Delta Airlines Passenger Sentenced for Midair Disturbance

A disruptive passenger on a Delta Airlines flight who fought with a flight attendant in an attempt to open an emergency exit has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa reported that Mario Nikpreraj, 24, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to interfering with flight attendants on a SkyWest Airlines flight traveling from Nebraska to Detroit last July.

Based in Shelby Township, Michigan, Mr. Nikpreraj is also required to complete two years of supervised release following his prison time.

According to prosecutors, the trouble began even before Delta Connection Flight 3612, operated by SkyWest, took off from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield.

Nikpreraj reportedly made “destructive and disrespectful comments” to both passengers and crew members. He initially resisted fastening his seatbelt until a flight attendant convinced him to do so.

As takeoff approached, he “repeatedly unbuckled his seatbelt” despite instructive reminders and even stood up while the aircraft was ascending.

At one point, he reportedly “flipped” an 80-year-old flight attendant who had asked him to secure his seatbelt, then physically assaulted her by punching her in the chest.

When another flight attendant indicated she would call law enforcement, he allegedly threatened her life.

During the tense situation, several passengers observed him tampering with the exit door and activated the emergency button. He appeared to acknowledge this before pandemonium reignited.

An elderly flight attendant, trying to intervene, faced further aggression from Nikpreraj, who shoved and threatened her as well.

The plane was eventually diverted, landing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to address the ongoing crisis.

As the descent occurred, prosecutors stated that Nikpreraj stood up, removed his shirt, and began pacing the aisle.

The flight attendants reached out to the passengers for assistance in restraining him, as he was yelling obscenities and attempting to hit others.

Upon landing, he was taken into custody, during which a prescription bottle, containing 41 pills labeled as Xanax and not prescribed to him, was discovered.

He faced multiple charges, including disorderly conduct, assault, possession of prescription drugs, tax stamp violation, and first-degree harassment.

Nikpreraj’s prior criminal record includes several offenses, such as assaulting a police officer and incidents related to domestic violence and drugs.

In a notable incident from 2020, he was charged with allegedly attacking his girlfriend and also accused of stealing a snowplow from a business near Detroit.