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Kassian William Fredericks, 36, told doctors that he had been drinking for 10 days straight and could not remember the last two years of his life, according to court records. He has been banned from flying Alaska Airlines, a spokesperson for the carrier told The Independent
Justin Rohrlich Wednesday 17 December 2025 17:43 GMT- Bookmark
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An out-of-control Alaska Airlines passenger had to be restrained by fellow travelers after authorities say he tried to yank open the cabin door while the aircraft was in midair, insisting, “The wings have disappeared. We’re all going to die.”
Just prior to the incident, Wasilla resident Kassian William Fredericks, 36, was overheard saying, “Stop the plane, stop the plane,” while repeatedly looking toward the rear of the aircraft, according to an FBI probable cause affidavit reviewed by The Independent.
When a concerned passenger asked Fredericks if he was OK, the affidavit says he replied, “They’re flying the plane from back here.”
The passenger asked who he was talking about, and Fredericks said, “No, they’re invisible,” according to the affidavit. “They’re trying to take over the plane. You got to stop them.”
It took three male passengers to wrestle Fredericks back into his seat because he “was so strong,” the affidavit states.
When asked why he was trying to open the cabin door, Fredericks replied that he “need[ed] air” and had to “get out of here,” according to the affidavit.
open image in galleryIt took three male passengers to pin Kassian William Fredericks to his seat after the 36-year-old allegedly tried to yank open the cabin door at 18,000 feet, officials said. (Getty Images; US District Court for the District of Alaska)The plane was flying from Deadhorse, deep in oil country, to Anchorage, the affidavit goes on. One passenger later told police that if there hadn’t been so many North Slope roughnecks aboard, “who were bigger in stature [and] able to help… things could have been a lot worse.”
In an email on Wednesday, federal defender Jane Imholte, Fredericks’s court-appointed lawyer, said, “Mr. Fredericks is presumed innocent, like any other person accused of a crime.”
Fredericks has been banned from flying Alaska Airlines, a spokesperson for the carrier told The Independent.
“We thank our crew for their professionalism in handling this situation, and we apologize to our guests for any concern this incident caused.,” the spokesperson said.
On December 10, Fredericks boarded Alaska Airlines flight 87, which left Deadhorse shortly before 7 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Anchorage about 90 minutes later, according to the affidavit.
The Boeing 737 was climbing out of Prudhoe Bay, at just over 18,000 feet, when the pilot received the first call from the flight attendants about Fredericks, whose behavior was making other passengers extremely uncomfortable, the affidavit explains.
In addition to claiming the plane’s wings had vanished and telling everyone around him that death was imminent, Fredericks also insisted, “Meth is coming out of the air vents,” and that “everybody is freaking out,” the affidavit continues. It says one of the flight attendants assured Fredericks that everything was fine, and that nobody was freaking out except for him. He then asked the crew member for two shots of vodka – a request that was denied, the affidavit states.
A witness seated in the row opposite thought Fredericks might have had Tourette Syndrome, but changed their mind after watching him acting “twitchy” and assumed he was under the influence of “some kind of drug,” according to the affidavit.
open image in galleryKassian William Fredericks was convinced that 'invisible' people were in fact flying the plane he was on, according to an FBI probable cause affidavit (AFP via Getty Images)As the cabin crew continued their beverage service, a nearby passenger saw Fredericks put a pill in his mouth and wash it down with some Gatorade he had brought with him, the affidavit says. The passenger later said they thought “perhaps the pill would calm him down,” but things instead began to deteriorate even further.
As Fredericks headed for the back of the plane and began “aggressively trying to open the rear cabin door,” a passenger identified in the affidavit as “J.M.” walked out of the lavatory and saw what was happening, the affidavit states.
“J.M. ran over to [Fredericks], who already had the arm of the cabin door moved upward and grabbed him, trying to stop him,” the affidavit says. “J.M. turned around and yelled to some male passengers at the back of the plane to come and help him. Two other male passengers got up to help.”
The flight attendants “wanted to restrain [Fredericks] with zip ties,” but then decided that “might make [him] act worse and escalate the situation,” the affidavit states.
At the same time, the captain saw a warning light go off, indicating that someone was trying to open the cabin door, according to the affidavit. The amount of outside air pressure pushing against the door makes it physically impossible for a person to open it while in-flight, the affidavit contends.
Yet, even if Fredericks would be able to actually force the door open, the affidavit says the crew worried that “manipulation of the cabin door arm could have triggered the emergency slide to deploy and inflate within the plane,” which “could have caused serious harm to any passengers in the cabin, including [Fredericks], who was near the door.”
open image in galleryAfter landing and being taken to an area hospital, Fredericks said he had been drinking for 10 days straight and claimed he couldn't remember the last two years of his life, according to the feds (Getty Images)While pinned in his seat by the three male passengers, Fredericks kept trying to wriggle free, the affidavit contends. He then began to shake and said he “thought he was overdosing,” it says. Fredericks became “more and more agitated,” and one of the crew feared he might have fashioned an edged weapon out of a Coke can (which turned out to be a pack of cigarettes in his lap), according to the affidavit.
While sitting, Fredericks told his volunteer minders that he was hearing voices, that he “had to get out,” and that “they were poking him,” the affidavit states.
Fredericks also insisted that he needed to call his mother, then asked for advice on how to break the window.
“The crew all stated they feared for the safety of their passengers and themselves,” according to the affidavit, which notes that although Fredericks “had not shown any physical aggression toward anyone, it was because of how erratic and ‘out of his mind’ he was that made them feel this way.”
Having deemed Fredericks a Level 2 threat, meaning a passenger who is physically abusive and requires crew intervention, the pilot considered diverting to Fairbanks but since they were then only 18 minutes away from Anchorage, and Fredericks was “not vomiting or passing out,” he stayed the course, the affidavit says.
open image in galleryA picture of the door the suspect tried to open was included in court filings. (US District Court for the District of Alaska)The pilot contacted ground controllers, who called the Anchorage Airport Police Department, which brought in the FBI, the agency with jurisdiction over incidents that occur in the air. Upon landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Fredericks apologized to the crew and “seemed to have calmed down when he was being escorted off the plane,” according to the affidavit.
It says officers and agents interviewed the flight crew and passenger witnesses, while the Anchorage Fire Department “immediately” transported Fredericks to an area hospital for observation.
There, one of the officers “overheard [Fredericks] telling the doctor he had been drinking alcohol for the last nine to 10 days, was seeing and hearing things, and could not remember the last two years of his life,” the affidavit states, adding that Fredericks was also taking prescription medication for anxiety. (Fredericks has two misdemeanor DUI convictions, from 2007 and 2009, according to public records.)
Earlier this year, a 24-year-old woman flying Alaska Air from Seattle to Phoenix was sentenced to three years of probation for trying to open a cabin door while en route, then biting a flight attendant who intervened. Last week, a passenger touched off chaos aboard a Cathay Pacific flight from Boston to Hong Kong after trying to open the cabin door mid-flight. In November 2024, a man flying American Airlines from Milwaukee to Dallas tried to do the same, insisting he was the “captain” of the aircraft and needed to “get off the plane.”
Fredericks was arrested on December 14 and charged with one count of interference with flight crew members, a felony. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Alaska Airlines did not respond to a request for comment.
