Beware, Man Punched Airplane Window

Beware, Man Punched Airplane Window

Ryan J. Marchione, a 24 year old man, punched the interior panel of an airplane window on a flight from Las Vegas to Florida. It happened about 90 minutes into the flight of the America West airplane. According to a source, "Marchione woke up abruptly from his sleep and turned to the passenger seated in 7B ... raised a clenched fist to his shoulder as if he was going to strike the passenger in 7B, then suddenly turned and struck the exterior window."

Luckily for the passengers, the outer window didn't have any damage. He was arrested as soon as the plane landed in Tampa International Airport. If convicted he could be facing up to 20 years in prison. His attorney said, "It appears to come out of nowhere, perhaps it was some sort of a psychotic episode as a result of drug abuse."

He's presently on electronic monitoring and was released on a $25, 000 bail. In other words, home detention. So did he fly to Vegas alone? Where were his friends on the plane?

So, maybe they should save a seat in first class for a therapist to be present on every flight. Just in case of other psychotic episodes that someone can suddenly have. Scary thought.

Posted: 10:43 p.m. EST October 14, 2005 by Mari Fernandez