Lawyer: Passenger took cocaine before disrupting flight

ORLANDO, Fla. – An attorney says a Canadian man took cocaine before boarding a flight where he allegedly attacked the crew with coffee pots and tried to open a cabin door.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that 34-year-old Brandon Michael Courneyea appeared Monday in Orlando federal court.

He has been charged with interfering with flight crew members and attendants after his May 15 flight from Jamaica to Canada was diverted to Orlando.

Defence attorney Corey Cohen said Courneyea was “very remorseful” about the incident.

Cohen said Courneyea took cocaine an hour before the Air Canada flight. Toxicology reports are pending.

Cohen has asked the judge to release Courneyea into his father’s custody so they can return home to Kingston, Ontario. Prosecutors want Courneyea to remain in jail.