Man gets nearly 2 years in prison for trying to open emergency door during chaotic LAX-to-DC flight

Juan Remberto Rivas also faces a pending assault charge for allegedly attacking an officer who arrested him at the Kansas City airport.

A 52-year-old man who had to be subdued by passengers and flight attendants when he tried to open an exit door during a chaotic American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 19 months in federal prison.

Juan Remberto Rivas of Los Angeles was sentenced Wednesday, July 31, by U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark in the Western District of Missouri in connection with the Feb. 13, 2022, flight that was diverted to Kansas City International Airport.

Rivas, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 23 to one count of interfering with flight crew members and flight attendants, was ordered to pay $64,434 in restitution to American Airlines. He will not be eligible for parole.

At some point during Flight 1775, Rivas got up from his seat, went to the front of the plane and began arguing with a flight attendant, FBI Special Agent Thomas Richard Malena said in a probable-cause affidavit. Rivas told another flight attendant in Spanish people were attempting to hurt him, had followed him onto the plane, and that he had heard the individuals harming his family over the phone.

Rivias then grabbed some plastic silverware from a service cart, placed it in his shirt sleeve and held it like a shank, the affidavit states. He also picked up a small champagne bottle, attempted to break it, shoved the service cart into one of the flight attendants, and tried to open an emergency exit door by lifting the handle.

“The flight attendants told Rivas to put the handle down and he was yelling ‘no’,” the affidavit states.

A passenger told Malena that Rivas was pulling so hard that the door moved away from the frame 2 to 3 inches.

Eventually, another flight attendant grabbed a coffee pot from the back of the plane and cracked Rivas twice over the head.

Several passengers rushed forward, and tackled and punched Rivas, who is about 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 240 pounds. Once Rivas was on the ground, they taped his legs and used zip ties provided by flight attendants to restrain him, states the affidavit.

According to court documents, Rivas assaulted law enforcement officers who attempted to arrest him after the airplane landed in Kansas City.

Several officers were injured, resulting in cuts, bruises and a hand injury as Rivas allegedly attempted to flee. Rivas faces a pending charge in Platte County, Missouri, for assault against a law enforcement officer.