Thursday, 4:30 PM
Passenger held without bail after diverting London flight
By Shelley Murphy,
Globe Staff
Catherine C. Mayo was ordered held without bail today until a court hearing next week on her disruption of a United airlines flight that was diverted to Logan International Airport yesterday.
Mayo, 59, of Braintree, Vt., passed suspicous notes to the flight crew, paced up and down the aisle, urinated on the floor and screamed at passengers, raising concerns among the pilots that she was a security threat, according to court papers.
Her attorney Page Kelley said Mayo may have psychological issues.
"She has a very serious mental illness," she said. "This case is not about terrorism. This is a case about somebody who is mentally ill."
Mayo was charged with interfering with a flight crew, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. She will undergo mental evaluation in the coming days, which may affect her legal status.
"I think there's an obvious question here of competency," said federal prosecutor James Lang.
Mayo's erratic behavior began a few hours into the trans-Atlantic flight when Mayo was seen pushing against the aircraft bulkhead. Instead of going back to her seat at the request of the flight crew, the affidavit says Mayo said she wanted to speak to an air marshall.
"She also made a statement to the affect, 'I know you want my bag' or 'I know you want to see what's in my bag,' " the affidavit said.
Later in the flight, Mayo would only communicate with the flight crew through a series of notes.
"About two hours and twenty minutes into the flight, Mayo requested an unopened can of Pepsi," reads the affidavit. "After it was provided
to her, she went to one of the two lavatories located on her side
of the fuselage in the aft of the plane. Afterward, she told a flight
attendant something to the effect, 'I left the Pepsi can in the
bathroom & there is something in it.' "
The flight crew later found the open can discarded in the lavatory trash bin. When Mayo was asked why she had done that, she had no explanation, the affidavit says.
She was later seen taking a bottle of water from an overhead bin that had not been supplied by the flight crew. When crew members tried to retrieve the bottle, a restricted item after last week, Mayo argued.
She also made references to having been in Pakistan illegally and accused flight attendants of going through her bags.
Mayo was later subdued and handcuffed by two fellow passengers as the plane carrying 182 passenger was diverted to Boston.
