Nebraska man arrested after emergency flight landing in Cedar Rapids now facing federal charge

A Nebraska man who was arrested last Thursday after causing an emergency flight landing at the Eastern Iowa Airport is now facing a federal charge in addition to his Linn County charges.

Mario Nikprelaj, 23, is charged in Linn County with assault, disorderly conduct, first-degree harassment, unlawful possession of a prescription drug, and failure to affix drug tax stamp. He is now also charged in federal court with interference with flight crew members and attendants.

According to a federal criminal complaint, flight attendants notified the pilot before the flight took off in Omaha, Nebraska that there was an unruly passenger — Nikprelaj — seated in the exit row, but that the attendants were able to “satisfactorily control the situation.”

The flight was heading for Detroit, Michigan. Shortly after the flight began its ascent, Nikprelaj left his seat against the crew’s instructions and flipped off the flight attendants, but by the time the flight had hit 10,000 feet he had returned to his seat and appeared to be falling asleep, according to the complaint.

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When the flight was about 20 miles outside of Cedar Rapids, Nikprelaj attempted to open the plane’s emergency exit door and started fighting with other passengers.

The pilot decided to land the plane in Cedar Rapids and made a call to air traffic control to let them know about the emergency landing. About five minutes after that call, Nikprelaj had begun fighting with one of the flight attendants, pushing them, grabbing their arms and threatening to kill them while they tried to stop him from opening the emergency door, the complaint states.

The pilot instructed passengers over the intercom to stay in their seats and follow flight attendant instructions, and also asked any passengers who were willing and able to help the flight attendants subdue Nikprelaj. Three passengers helped to subdue Nikprelaj until the plane landed about fifteen minutes later.

Cedar Rapids police boarded the plane and arrested Nikprelaj. They found he was carrying Xanax pills hidden under his scrotum, according to the complaint.

Nikprelaj had his first appearance in Linn County court Friday and is being held at the Linn County Jail on a $10,000 bond. He is scheduled to have a first appearance for his federal charge on Tuesday.

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