Man charged with assault after in-flight incident

ANCHORAGE (AP) -- A North Carolina man was jailed on a federal assault charge Tuesday after a Northwest Airlines international flight was diverted to Anchorage.

Earl Quincey Washington, 54, of Halifax, N.C., was charged after Northwest Flight 69 from Detroit to Osaka, Japan, landed at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Phillip Reid, special agent in charge of the FBI in Alaska, said Washington became agitated with a child sitting behind him two and a half hours into the flight.

Washington threatened to punch the child, used profanity, threatened other passengers and refused to follow the directions of the flight crew, Reid said.

Washington was arrested without incident and was being held Wednesday in the Cook Inlet Pretrial Facility awaiting an appearance before a U.S. magistrate.

Northwest spokesman Dennis Mollura said the Boeing 747-400 carried 390 passengers and touched down in Anchorage at 5:10 p.m. The jet was on the ground for 30-40 minutes.

He said information was not immediately available on how far the aircraft was diverted from its regular route.