A 33-year-old Auburn, Washington man was just too sexy for his flight, so he took his clothes off. Adam Alexander Williams is now facing up to 20 years in jail, a $25,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno B. Baucus is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Billings Airport Police.

Williams was a passenger on an American Airlines flight headed to Charlotte, North Carolina, from Seattle, Washington. The man suddenly grew confused after take-off, yelling “Where is Jamie Sanders?”

After screaming, the disruptive passenger argued and fought with flight attendants, forcing one into a seat. Luckily, some Marines were also on the same flight, so attendants placed them near Williams as a safety measure.

But the emotional Williams suddenly jumped out of his seat and took his clothes off.

Due to the disruption onboard, the pilot diverted the flight to Billings, Montana. Now, he is facing 20 years in jail and a $25,000 fine.

Williams pleaded guilty to interference with flight members and attendees, and further court appearances are pending. The US Attorney’s Office of the District of Montana said the sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine a sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The defendant was released pending further court proceedings.

In court papers, the government claims “Williams boarded an American Airlines flight departing Seattle, Washington, for a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. Once in the air, Williams’ behavior turned erratic and escalated. Williams yelled out to no one in particular, “Where is Jamie Sanders?” At one point, Williams jumped over passengers in his row and onto a beverage cart that was in service. As he came off of the cart, he almost landed on a flight attendant and pushed her into a seat, knocking drinks and cups to the ground. He then began to run down the aisle of the aircraft. Williams’ behavior startled the flight attendant, who later appeared distressed and traumatized.”

New laws regarding unruly, violent, or disruptive passengers mid-air are being enforced across the US. The Zero Tolerance policy was first enacted in January 2021 as a surge in mid-air disruptive passenger incidents became common.

In April 2022 the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made its “Zero Tolerance” policy against unruly passengers permanent.

Under The Zero Tolerance Policy, the FAA now issues fines to passengers for disruptive, unruly behavior on flights. Before the new policy, passengers were usually given warning letters or sent to mandated counseling.

Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said passengers would pay for their unruly and menacing behavior on airlines.

Behaving dangerously on a plane will cost you; that’s a promise,” said Nolen. “Unsafe behavior simply does not fly and keeping our Zero Tolerance policy will help us continue making progress to prevent and punish this behavior.”

Though the more stringent laws created for airlines in flight during the pandemic offer tougher penalties for unruly passengers, this is not the first time a passenger became unhinged and stripped naked midair.

In August 2009, a man was arrested after removing clothing and being disruptive while on a Southwest flight traveling from Oakland, California, to St. Louis, Missouri. He also fought with airline attendants but then did something more violent.

The 21-year-old passenger, Darius Chappell, exposed himself to a woman passenger and punched her in the face. The flight was diverted back to Oakland, where Alameda County Deputies arrested Chappell, who was still undressed.

More recently, a man on an Alaskan Airlines 2018 flight from Seattle to Anchorage also became incoherent and ran up and down the aisle naked, frightening passengers. He was subdued by fellow passengers on the plane and then transported to an Anchorage hospital once the plane arrived safely.