Airline passenger pees on seat, refuses to wear mask on flight from Seattle, feds say

An Alaska Airlines passenger is accused of urinating on a seat and refusing to wear a mask during a flight, federal authorities say.

Landon Grier, 24, was on a flight Tuesday from Seattle to Denver when a flight attendant asked him about eight to 10 times to wear a mask, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. Instead of complying, he pushed her away and hit her arm about three times, authorities say.

Later in the flight, a passenger called flight attendants because Grier was urinating in his seat and they asked him to sit down, authorities say. When Grier sat down, his penis was out of his pants and a flight attendant asked him to put his penis back inside his clothing, authorities say.

“I have to pee,” he replied, according to a criminal complaint.

A female passenger said Grier urinated on a paper bag she brought onto the flight, according to the criminal complaint.

The flight attendants reseated passengers in the area.

The pilot later told investigators the disruption happened as the plane experienced a mechanical issue, which forced the crew to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport.

“(The pilot) stated the passenger disruption occurred during a high work load environment while they were descending over the mountains in turbulent conditions,” the criminal complaint says. “The disruption caused the pilot crew to divert attention from their emergency landing preparation.”

Grier told investigators he was employed at a gold mine in Alaska and took an over-the-counter pain reliever for body aches from work after consuming four to five beers and “a couple of shots,” according to the criminal complaint.

Grier was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants. He could go to prison up to 20 years and be fined up to $250,000.

This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Airline passenger pees on seat, refuses to wear mask on flight from Seattle, feds say."