As one passenger saw it, a Satanic disciple was stowed on a flight to Florida and had to do something.
Less than a minute after American Airlines flights took off from Savannah, Georgia for Miami, passengers began screaming. The flight attendant initially thought he was having a seizure.
However, it turns out he was suffering from the demonic spirit that he thought had broken into the cabin. And at some point during the flight, he swallowed the rosary beads and began to remove its spirit.
According to an arrest affidavit, when Austerly approached Augustine, who had delarated 31-year-old Augustine, he kicked one of them in the chest and fell across the aisle into the window on the other side of the plane.
That's when the cabin crew realized that Augustine, who was traveling with her sister, did not have a medical emergency. “Augustin's choice seemed intentional, but it's hard to explain,” FBI special agent Savannah Solomon wrote in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chatham County.
The pilot turned to the plane when he heard the commotion and landed safely in the Savannah. But that wasn't the end of the episode.
Disembark from the jet got caught up in chaos when Augustine struck the front of the plane and threw several wild punches at the flight attendants before the door was opened, the affidavit said. Several passengers helped him and his sister to wrestling to the ground.
Authorities then learned that Augustine had swallowed the rosary beads. There he was taken to hospital where he was evaluated and discharged to the county jail. His condition was not immediately clear as of Tuesday night.
At the detention center, Augustine's sister told authorities that she was traveling to Haiti to “escape from religious attacks of a spiritual nature,” according to the affidavit.
Augustine told his sister, “Satan's disciples were chasing them on the plane, so he told him to close his eyes and pray to pray, and he swallowed the rosary beads.
According to the affidavit, only about eight passengers were on the plane. No one was seriously injured.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our entire crew and the understanding of our passengers,” American Airlines said in a statement Tuesday night.
The Envoy Air, which operated the flight, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Jail records show that Augustine was placed in prison for misdemeanor battery charging, obstructing a law enforcement suspect and felony victimization of criminal property. In her affidavit, Solomon said there was also a possible cause for him to arrest him for obstructing the flight crew.
Augustine's lawyers were not listed in court records. His residence was not immediately clear.
Sheila McNeill Contributed research.
