Wild drunk nearly downs plane

SALT LAKE CITY -

A Ukrainian man, hung over from a 50-day drinking binge, said he believed that the wing of the airplane was on fire when he disrupted a Salt Lake City-bound Delta Air Lines flight and had to be wrestled to the floor by passengers, authorities allege in a criminal complaint.

Federal authorities said that Anatoliy Baranovich woke up during the plane's descent, started yelling in Russian and tried to open the rear exit door, damaging the plane's fuselage.

Fellow passenger Mike Riegelman, a Boston resident who was flying in first class en route to Boise, Idaho, for a business trip, said Wednesday he was torn between feeling sorry for Baranovich and being impressed by the Ukrainian's drinking prowess.

"He scared a lot of people, though," Riegelman said.

Baranovich boarded Delta Air Lines Flight 1215, bound for Salt Lake City, Monday evening in Boston. He was headed to Portland, Ore.

According to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Baranovich had been visiting family in the Ukraine for several weeks in an attempt to begin construction on a house. Unsuccessful in his efforts, Baranovich instead got drunk for the entire 50 days and "never sobered up."