A federal judge sentenced a man to three years probation for an incident aboard a plane. (Getty Images)
LINCOLN — A federal judge sentenced a 37-year-old man to three years probation after he yelled “God is real” while on an airplane set to take off from Omaha, started chattering about demons and tried to open the cabin door.
Wesley Orban of Ireton, Iowa, was sentenced last week for assault in a special aircraft jurisdiction, Susan Lehr, U.S. attorney for Nebraska, said Monday. Chief District Judge Robert Rossiter Jr. presided over the case investigated by the FBI.
Orban was a passenger on a Delta Airlines flight set to depart from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield to LaGuardia International Airport in New York on Nov. 9, 2023. Shortly after the aircraft’s external doors were closed following boarding, and as the plane was taxiing toward the runway, Orban reportedly began yelling about God and demons.
He left his seat, ran to the front of the plane and began banging on the cabin door and tried to open it, according to a media statement by Lehr. Orban physically struggled with a flight attendant who got between Orban and the cockpit door.