Los Angeles Man Arrested for Smoking Marijuana on Plane
A Los Angeles man has been arrested for smoking marijuana on a Jet Blue plane headed to Newark, N.J.
Adam Blumenkranz of L.A. reportedly lit a marijuana pipe during the flight from Orlando on Monday in the plane's bathroom, according to KTLA-TV.
Al Della Fave, a spokesperson for Port Authority, said a flight attendant knocked on the bathroom door, and when Blumenkranz appeared, the attendant smelled a strong odor of marijuana.
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Police were waiting for Blumenkranz as he arrived at the Newark terminal and took him into custody.
The 43-year-old man told police that he was permitted to use marijuana for medical reasons, and that he thought his medical license for the substance made smoking on the plane legal.
After producing a bag of marijuana and a glass pipe, Blumenkranz was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and drug paraphernalia.
"You can't just do that on a commercial airliner," Della Fave said. "You cannot smoking anything, regardless what the issue is."
Blumenkranz has since been released, but is not available for comment. The address in Los Angeles led authorities to Willeshire Boulevard, where a company official said Blumenkranz no longer has a connection to the company.
During another in-flight smoke-related disturbance, airplane passengers were thrown into a panic when someone's iPhone 4 exploded after landing in Sydney, Australia last November.
The Apple device started "emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow," according to a statement released by Express Airlines, an Australian regional carrier.
According to AP, once the iPhone exploded chaos erupted, but that a flight attendant restored order by using a fire extinguisher on the smoking phone. The cause of the combustion of the phone has not been determined, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau obtained possession of the device for further investigation.
Smoking and any open flames on an airplane is considered a serious offense for safety as well as health reasons.
