Black Belt Flight Attendant Lorin Gorman Smokes Pot Cookie-Crazed Passenger Kinman Chan

By: Ryan Smith
Topics: Daily Blotter

(Personal Photo)

(CBS)

PITTSBURGH (CBS/AP) It is hard to imagine that Kinman Chan, a San Francisco man who claims he was high on a double dose of medical marijuana cookies when he screamed, dropped his pants and attacked crew members on a cross-country flight last week, knew who he was up against.

Photo: Lorin Gorman

Meet Lorin Gorman, his flight, or should we say, fight attendant.

A fourth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Gorman is credited with helping to avert a precarious situation in the air for US-Air flight 1447.

Crew members said Chan made odd gestures before he entered the plane's rear restroom shortly after takeoff and began to scream, according to a complaint filed by the FBI.

Photo: Kinman Chan

Chan told agents that he "came back to reality" and exited the restroom, at which point the crew noticed his "pants were down, his shirt was untucked and all the compartments in the restroom were opened."

When Gorman tried to get Chan to sit, he fought her and had to be subdued in a choke hold, she says.

"I said, 'You need to sit down now,'" Gorman told television station KNSD.

Chan did not.

"Well, what I did, I just put him in an arm lock. To get his other arm, I had to jump up on the seat … He was resisting," Gorman said to the station.

Chan, 30, was charged with interfering with the duties of a flight attendant, which carries up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Margaret Philbin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh, said Chan has a legally issued medical marijuana card for a "legitimate" health issue, which she declined to identify.

Chan was arrested in Pittsburgh, then jailed until a federal magistrate granted him bond Tuesday, Philbin said.

Allegheny County officials have also charged him with disorderly conduct, Philbin said.

A federal grand jury will now take up the case. Chan waived his right to a preliminary hearing. That means federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh have 30 days to obtain a grand jury indictment on the charge.

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by speed100mph February 10, 2010 11:02 AM EST: I guess we could have laughed this one off in the 90's....sigh; Reply to this comment

by RoboBlogger February 9, 2010 4:18 PM EST

20 pounds of pressure to the dudes patella would've done the trick for the remainder of the flight.

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by speed100mph February 10, 2010 10:56 AM EST: This guy is like 5ft tall...so not that hard to subdue...plus the marijuana probably slowed his reaction timing...which would explain why he didn't sit down right away...kinda sucks living in the post 911 era...Kinman needs to make T-shirts...with his likeness on the front, titled "bad trip", a US airliner on the back and leaves on the sleaves...that way he can pay his defense...kinda sucks living in the post 911 era...just an everyday 'shmo high on a plane...