A woman was sentenced to a term of 19 months and 24 days, after which she will be conditionally released for three years due to her attempt to interfere with the operation of a small commercial aircraft during landing. This was stated by the head of the prosecutor's office, Jessi Laslovich.
In August, the defendant, 36-year-old Tracy Lynn Igman, pleaded guilty to attempting to alter the flight path during an air transport. Court documents, cited by the MTN television channel, indicate that on March 21, 2023, Igman was on board Cape Air flight 1793, a small passenger plane flying from Billings to Havre.
When the plane was approaching Havre, the woman stood up and began to scream about an unknown reason for the landing. The plane's crew—captain and first officer—managed to subdue her and return her to her seat, but she again stood up, approached the front of the cabin, and struck the control panel.
Igman was able to push down on the throttle of one of the engines, causing the aircraft to accelerate and veer off course at a speed of around 80 miles per hour. The crew regained control of the aircraft, prevented further incidents, and completed a safe landing on the runway, bringing her to the airport.
In subsequent interviews, the crew members noted that a deviation from the course at such speed could lead to a serious crash and overturn; however, all turned out to be fortunate.