Drunken Passenger Tries To Stop Plane

A drunken passenger who wanted off a USAir Express commuter plane speeding down a runway grabbed the steering control and punched the co-pilot, police said Thursday.

The plane, carrying nine passengers, was taking off from Benedum Airport in Bridgeport on Wednesday when Earl Cleaver reached through the curtain and grabbed the steering control, Police Officer Carl Springer said.

“The pilot tried to stop him and the co-pilot was trying to wrestle with him. He hit the co-pilot in the face,” Springer said.

“A passenger grabbed him by the foot and they dragged him down to the floor while the pilot stopped the plane,” he said.

The plane had reached about 92 mph on the runway in preparation for takeoff for Pittsburgh, Springer said.

The pilots brought the plane to a stop and returned to the terminal. Cleaver, 36, of Clarksburg, was charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest.