A first-time flier is facing federal charges after allegedly asking two flight attendants if they wanted to join the “mile high club,” yanking one of them into his seat, mid-air, before asking unnerving “questions related to entering the aircraft cockpit,” according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
James Finnister, 47, also “laid down on the floor of the aircraft in front of his seat after being moved for a third time by flight attendants due to his disruptive, intimidating behaviors,” the complaint states. “The flight attendants were forced to stop service and pick Finnister off the floor.”
Upon landing, Finnister told cops that he had downed “multiple alcoholic shots to calm his nerves prior to the flight, which he stated was his first,” according to the complaint. The explanation didn’t help matters, and Finnister was arrested on one count of interference with flight crew members, which carries up to 20 years in prison.
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But on Wednesday night, hours after being freed on bond and surrendering his passport, Finnister told The Daily Beast the charges were “bogus,” and insisted he had in fact been asleep for the majority of the two-hour-and-10-minute journey.
On Monday, Finnister, who is unemployed, took a five-hour bus ride from Detroit, where he lives, to Louisville, Kentucky, to see his cousin, he said. From there, he was set to catch a Tuesday morning flight to Orlando, Florida, to spend time with other family members. Finnister was at once excited to be flying for the first time, and “extra geeked, kinda scared” about it, he said. So, before he left his cousin’s place for the airport, he said he unscrewed a bottle of vodka and “took some shots” to settle his nerves.
Things got off to a good start, according to Finnister, who said he began kidding around with the crew upon boarding.
“When I first walked in the plane, I made a joke—I said, ‘This one of those mile high flights?’” Finnister recalled. “They laughed and sat me by the window, [because] it was my first time flying… I was talking to a father and son next to me. We took off, I seen the clouds, and I fell asleep for two hours.”
The feds, however, tell a different story.
“[A]pproximately an hour into the flight, James Warren Finnister asked the lead flight attendant if she wanted to join the ‘mile high club,’” the complaint against him states. “Finnister was originally assigned to 18D, but never sat in that seat. At the time of this interaction with the lead flight attendant, Finnister was reassigned to 22A, which is a window seat.”
At another point while en route to Orlando, Finnister “intentionally grabbed a female aircraft flight attendant when Spirit Airlines Flight 693 was in flight, pulled her into his seat, and asked her if she wanted to join the ‘mile high club,’ interfering with her ability to perform her duties,” according to the complaint. “The flight attendant was able to free herself from Finnister’s grip and report the incident to her flight supervisor.”
“In addition to that question,” the complaint continues, “Finnister also asked the flight attendant multiple questions about the aircraft cockpit, which alarmed her, including questions related to entering the aircraft cockpit.”
Finnister allegedly then sprawled out in the aisle, interrupting the in-flight service, according to the complaint.
The flight landed Tuesday at 10:26 a.m., and was met at the gate by law enforcement, the complaint states. Finnister told The Daily Beast that he didn’t remember doing any of what the complaint alleges.
“I woke up to an FBI agent sitting next to me,” he said. “I’m trying to get up, and he says, ‘You need to sit down.’ I said, ‘What’s up? What did I do?’”
After all of the other passengers deplaned, the agent escorted Finnister into the terminal, along with a pair of Deputy U.S. Marshals, he said. According to the complaint, Finnister admitted to asking the two flight attendants if they wanted to join the mile high club. Finnister, however, insisted to The Daily Beast he never put his hands on anyone. He also said his questions about the cockpit were innocuous and well-meaning, if a bit naive.
“I asked about the cockpit, like, is this the cockpit up here? I never been on a plane, I wanted to have a look,” he said. “And so they took me to jail. The charges are so bogus. It really ain’t no charge.”
Finnister made his initial appearance in Orlando federal court on Wednesday afternoon, and was released pending trial. He is forbidden to drink alcohol, must submit to regular drug testing, and his travel is restricted to the State of Michigan and the Middle District of Florida. Finnister will try to make the best of his planned two-week stay in Orlando, and still has somewhat fond memories of his inaugural plane ride—or, at least part of it.
“When I first got on, I was kinda hyped to be there,” he said. “I was at peace.”
The Federal Aviation Administration received 2,075 reports of unruly passengers in 2023, a 15 percent drop over 2022, with 2,455 unruly passenger reports filed, 567 enforcement actions initiated, and $8.4 million in fines levied.
