Man Urinating in Aircraft Aisle Causes American Airlines Emergency Landing

An American Airlines flight was diverted from its original destination due to disturbing activity onboard.
 
On Wednesday, July 3, American Airlines Flight 3921 departed Chicago O-Hare (ORD) for Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) in New Hampshire. The roughly three-and-a-half-hour flight departed at 08:27 AM local time and was scheduled to arrive at 11:36 AM Eastern Time. 
 
However, more than halfway into the flight at around 10 AM ET, an unexpected event happened onboard as the plane flew above Buffalo, New York.
 
It is reported that it was around this time that Neil McCarthy, a 25-year-old man from Oregon, exposed himself in the cabin and started urinating on the aisle. According to police, McCarthy claims to have been "flicking the bean" due to a "medical urination problem" in his seat after using the lavatory. 
 
Police also reported to have acquired video footage of McCarthy exposing himself to a passenger on the flight.

This was enough to divert the flight from its original destination in Manchester to the closest airport available for a safe landing. The pilots decided to land at nearby Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUH) "due to the disruptive customer." Data from FlightRadar24 shows the flight's descent at around 10:20 AM Eastern Time and landing at 10:45.

Niagara Frontier Transit Authority Police responded as the aircraft neared gate 2 at Buffalo. McCarthy was arrested and escorted off the plane by police, and Flight 3921 was able to depart 80 minutes later, at around 12:04 PM Eastern Time. 
 
AA3921 landed at Manchester 54 minutes later at 12:59 PM without further incident, 1 hour and 23 minutes behind schedule. This aircraft had to operate the returning flight to Chicago, also as AA3921, but for obvious reasons, could not do so. This caused the returning flight to be delayed by 11 hours, operated by another E170.

Following the incident, American Airlines said, “We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York, McCarthy appeared in court at Buffalo and was subsequently released after being charged with indecent exposure. He is expected to appear in court again on July 25. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a $5000 fine if convicted.

It is reported that McCarthy, from Oregon, said he was traveling from Portland, Oregon, to Manchester, New Hampshire, transiting at Chicago, a hub of America. McCarthy told police he had multiple "Jacks and Cokes" during his trip, before boarding his flight in Portland, and while transiting at Chicago.
 
The aircraft involved in this incident is an Embraer E170, a popular regional jet registered as N771JV. This specific E170 is an E170LR variant, which allows the aircraft to travel further than the original version. It was delivered new to TAME, Ecuador's now-defunct former flag carrier, in March 2006 with registration HC-CEX. 
 
In 2015, it changed ownership to Aerolitoral, the operator for Aeroméxico, with the registration XA-GAY. The E170 was returned to its lessor, registered as N870NC, and stored at Tucson International Airport from 2020 to July 29, 2022. Envoy, the regional operator for American Eagle, became the owner at this point. 

However, the aircraft was transferred to Pinal Airpark and stored until February 4, 2023, then to Abilene Regional Airport and stored until September 26, 2023. It was re-registered as N771JV and finally returned to service in November. Since then, the E170 has been flying in American Eagle colors, operated by Envoy.
 

N771JV did not suffer mechanical damage due to this incident but was significantly behind schedule for its daily flights. As mentioned above, the return flight (also AA3921) was delayed more than 11 hours. N771JV spent the night at Manchester-Boston Regional, presumably being thoroughly cleaned there. 
 
The next day, July 4, the aircraft flew again as AA3921 from Manchester to Chicago. It then flew AA4154 from Chicago O'Hare (ORD) to Louisville Muhamad Ali International Airport (SDF) and is currently on the ground at Louisville when writing.