OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Massachusetts man accused of interfering with a flight attendant on a plane diverted to Omaha has been acquitted.
Timothy Columbare, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, was found not guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. He’d been charged with interfering with a flight crew member.
Authorities have said Columbare interfered with the attendant on a Southwest Airlines flight that had taken off March 19, 2017, from St. Louis and was headed to Seattle.
The Lincoln Journal Star reported that authorities said Columbare became confrontational after the flight attendant wouldn’t get him the alcoholic beverage he wanted. The attendant later told Columbare he couldn’t serve him alcohol due to his “aggressive conduct.” That led to another confrontation in which another passenger stepped in.
The attendant alerted the pilot, and the flight landed in Omaha. Columbare was escorted off the plane.
Columbare later denied using any profanity or threatening anyone on the plane. His Lincoln attorney, Seth Morris, called it essentially a giant misunderstanding.
