Release #96.74

December 20, 1996

ALPA Applauds Sentencing In Disruptive Passenger Incident

WASHINGTON, D.C.---Christmas being one of the heaviest air travel seasons of the year, most passengers are in a festive mood. However, if you find yourself exasperated by long lines and crowded airplanes, better not try to take it out on the airline crew or your fellow passengers. According to the Air Line Pilots Association, the last person to try that was just sentenced to more than four years in a federal prison.

The pilots association, which represents most of the nation's airline pilots, today applauded the sentencing of a man accused of interfering with the crew on a USAir flight between Savannah, Ga. and Charlotte, N.C. earlier this year.

Gary Lougee was sentenced to 51 months in prison, 200 hours of community service, drug and alcohol testing, and ordered to pay $611 in fuel costs. He was charged with striking fellow passengers and flight attendants, trying to break into the cockpit, and attempting to open an emergency door during a July 6, 1996 USAir flight from Savannah, Ga. The incident occurred shortly after takeoff, and the aircraft returned to Savannah. Lougee was apprehended by airport police and turned over to the FBI for questioning. Lougee was indicted last August in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia in Savannah.

The pilots union says that with the heavy traffic and bad weather that accompany Christmas, flying can sometimes try the patience of the most seasoned traveler. Their advice: sit back and take it easy -- it's still safer, quicker, and more relaxing than trying to drive there.

ALPA is the nation's oldest and largest pilots union, representing 43,000 pilots at 38 U.S. airlines.

###

ALPA Contact: Bob Flocke, John Mazor (703) 481-4440