The girls were apparently models (but still no pics). Four pilots were on board. Further details below.
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Twin Sisters Charged With Felonies
By DAN JOLING
Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Twin sisters who said they were flying to a modeling contest in China were charged with federal felonies Friday after they allegedly downed too many drinks too quickly, began swearing at each other and used the aircraft restroom to smoke.
Federal prosecutors said identical twins Cynthia and Crystal Mikula, 22, of Buckley, Mich., hit and spit on members of the crew as flight attendants tried to calm the pair.
FBI Special Agent Michael Thoreson said the twins did not appear intoxicated before boarding the plane. They were said to have consumed several drinks after the in-flight movie and began arguing near a restroom at the rear of the plane.
Passengers reported smelling cigarette smoke in the restroom.
Thoreson said Cynthia Mikula told her sister, "I've gotta get out of here. Let me off this airplane, I gotta smoke.''
When a flight attendant tried to intervene, Cynthia Mikula swung and hit her with an open hand, bloodying the woman's nose.
A male crew member escorted the women to their seats. Cynthia Mikula hit him, too, Thoreson said. The crew restrained her with plastic handcuffs at ankles and wrists after she hit a third crew member and spit on another, Thoreson said.
At that point, Thoreson said, Crystal Mikula became violent. She struck one flight attendant and jumped on the back of another, choking him and scratching his neck.
The women were charged with interfering with the performance of a flight crew, a felony, after United Airlines flight 857 from San Francisco to Shanghai was diverted to Anchorage late Thursday.
The Mikulas were arraigned Friday before U.S. Magistrate John Roberts, who ordered them held pending a preliminary hearing and bail hearing Wednesday.
The twins, arraigned in separate hearings, asked for court-appointed attorneys and were told charges against them could bring 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.
The jet was 1,100 miles from Anchorage, when it was turned back to Alaska.
The Mikulas continued to scream profanities until they were arrested at the airport, Thoreson said.
The Boeing 747 carried 233 passengers and 22 crew members, including four pilots and 18 flight attendants, said Whitney Staley of United Airlines' media relations office in Chicago.
Passengers were put up in a hotel Thursday night and took a glacier tour Friday, Staley said. The flight continued to Shanghai Friday night after the crew completed a mandatory rest.