First-time flier arrested for his ‘mile high club’ request to flight attendants

"I woke up to an FBI agent sitting next to me."

James Finnister was flying to Orlando on Spirit Airlines Flight 693 before he reportedly pulled a flight attendant onto his lap and asked them "questions related to entering the aircraft cockpit."

The filed complaint tells that the 47-year-old man, who was heavily inebriated, did not stop there.

He "laid down on the floor of the aircraft in front of his seat after being moved for a third time by flight attendants due to his disruptive, intimidating behaviours."

“The flight attendants were forced to stop service and pick Finnister off the floor," the complaint says.

It was reported that Finnister had travelled from Detroit to Lousville, Kentucky, to see his cousin. He was then flying onto Orlando to spend more time with family, but was "extra geeked, kinda scared."

This resulted in Finnister consuming multiple vodka shots, which are said to have been the reason for his in-flight breakdown.

"I woke up to an FBI agent sitting next to me,” Finnister said.

“I’m trying to get up, and he says, ‘You need to sit down.’ I said, ‘What’s up? What did I do?’"

Finnister also claims that his "mile high club" comment was a 'joke', and that he was in fact asleep for the length of the flight.

The criminal complaint landed him an appearance in Orlando federal court earlier this week.

His travel has been limited to the state of Michigan and the Middle District of Florida, and he is required to undertake regular drug testing and is prohibited from drinking alcohol.

He is pending trial.