(Mid Atlantic) On Saturday last (22nd Feb) 27 year old Dana Ghazi Mustafa found herself on United Airlines flight 933 that departed from Frankfurt, Germany, and destined for Dulles International Airport in the US. During the flight, flight attendants were alerted to the lavatory smoke detector, on inspection they encountered Mustafa having a drag on a ciggy , they told her it was illegal to smoke aboard the aircraft and returned to her seat. Not long after flight attendants noticed Mustafa crying and visibly upset, Mustafa stated that she was flying home to see her family, but they had died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.
After being relocated a second time, a Federal Air Marshal
observed Mustafa leave her seat and walk to the rear of the plan while striking
the flint of a lighter. As a flight attendant attempted to stop Mustafa from
entering the lavatory, Mustafa pushed the flight attendant and tried to close
the lavatory. At that time, two Federal Air Marshals jumped in . Mustafa
allegedly refused to comply and was combative, including resisting being
handcuffed, yelling, and kicking at the Federal Air Marshals.
After being handcuffed and relocated next to a Federal Air
Marshal, Mustafa stated that, “I’m going to stab everyone on this plane. Then
kill myself. I’m Palestinian! That’s how we get down.”
Upon landing at Dulles International Airport, an FBI agent
interviewed Mustafa about the incident, including her statement regarding her
family being killed by a drunk driver. Mustafa allegedly admitted the story was
a lie.
Mustafa is charged with assaulting a federal officer and
faces a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, if convicted.
