Drunk firefighter causes chaos in first class — forcing pilot to make emergency landing, police say
Exclusive: Robert Solesky admitted to ‘aggressively’ grabbing a flight attendant by the lapels, but insisted that “it was a kind gesture to say, ‘Thanks, man,’” according to court filings reported first by The Independent
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Your support makes all the difference.A retired New York City firefighter flying first-class to Japan allegedly got so drunk, he couldn’t figure out how to get in — or out — of the plane’s lavatory, after which he grabbed a flight attendant, tried to enter the cockpit, and generally became so uncontrollable, the rattled pilot was forced to put the aircraft down in Alaska, some 3,500 miles from its intended destination.
When airport police breathalyzed 61-year-old Robert William Solesky, he blew a 0.219, the stage at which blackouts are likely, and one step before potential alcohol poisoning, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday in Anchorage federal court and reported first by The Independent.
Solesky, who was released Wednesday on his own recognizance, was unable to be contacted. His attorney, Kevin Roe, was in court on Thursday and unavailable for interviews, his assistant told The Independent. Reached by phone, Solesky’s wife Pam, who was aboard the flight and is listed in court filings as a witness, hung up without comment.
The incident took place January 5, on American Airlines flight 167 from JFK to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, the affidavit states. It says Solesky was sitting in the fourth row of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, in a lie-flat reclining seat normally priced just north of $12,000, round-trip.
The plane had been in the air for roughly eight hours, with another six to go, when Solesky got up to use the restroom at the front of the cabin, the affidavit states. A flight attendant, identified in the affidavit by the initials “G.B.,” saw Solesky struggling to open the restroom door, and walked over to assist, the affidavit goes on.
“Due to his level of intoxication, [Solesky] had difficulty both entering and exiting the restroom,” the affidavit continues. “Once inside the restroom, [Solesky] began banging and kicking on the restroom door, attempting to push the door open rather than pull to exit. The banging on the door was loud enough that the flight crew could hear the banging inside the cockpit, and G.B needed to assist [Solesky] in exiting the restroom[.]”
Once Solesky was out of the toilet, he “aggressively grabbed” G.B. by the lapels of his jacket, the affidavit goes on.
At this point, G.B. told Solesky, a former member of the FDNY, according to public records, that “his level of disruption was disturbing both the cockpit crew and other passengers and that he needed to remain seated and calm down,” the affidavit says.
A second flight attendant, identified in court filings as B.J., was “finally” able to get Solesky back to his seat, the affidavit states. G.B. and a second flight attendant, identified in court filings as B.J., “repeatedly instructed” him to stay in his seat, the affidavit explains. Concerned about Solesky’s proximity to the cockpit, G.B. and B.J. also told Solesky he was prohibited from using the first-class restroom for the remainder of the flight, according to the affidavit.
“Despite these clear instructions, [Solesky] refused to comply with the directions of flight crew members and made repeated attempts to access the front of the aircraft,” the affidavit alleges, adding that Solesky “insisted on getting up and going back to the same restroom at the front of the aircraft that he had previously been instructed not to use.”
By now, Solesky’s cousins, who were also aboard the flight, had gotten involved, intercepting him and guiding him back to his seat each time he wandered up to the front of the plane, according to the affidavit. After he approached the flight deck and knocked on the cockpit door, Solesky’s relatives tried to restrain him, to no avail, it says.
Although G.B. and B.J. later told investigators they didn’t feel like they were personally in any immediate physical danger, the affidavit says they had by now both become “increasingly concerned” for the safety of other passengers, the affidavit states.
Pam Solesky would go on to tell the FBI, which has jurisdiction over in-flight crimes, that “she did not feel capable of controlling her husband’s behavior even with the assistance of other family members,” the affidavit states.
“She recalled the flight attendants giving repeated warnings to her husband,” it says. “She recalled them being nice and respectful to her husband when interacting with him, however he would not comply with any of their instructions.”
After G.B. notified the pilot of the situation, he left the cockpit to speak with Solesky’s wife about her husband’s antics, according to the affidavit. The pilot told her that if Solesky was unable to maintain his composure, the flight would be forced to land and Solesky arrested, the affidavit says.
However, it contends, the fragile peace was short-lived.
“Once [Solesky] continued to disregard instructions given by the flight crew, the Captain made the decision to divert the plane to the closest airport, which was Anchorage,” according to the affidavit, which says Solesky’s wife “agreed” with the choice.
On the ground, Solesky was taken into custody by officers with the Anchorage Airport Police Department and advised of his rights, the affidavit states.
Under questioning, it says, Solesky “confirmed grabbing the jacket of flight attendant G.B. but stated that he did not feel it was an issue and ‘thought it was a kind gesture to say, ‘Thanks, man.’”
Solesky, who told police that he “is very healthy, works out often, and is not taking any medications,” insisted he “only recalled having a bloody mary with two bottles of liquor,” according to the affidavit.
The Federal Aviation Administration received 2,102 complaints of unruly passengers in 2024, a slight increase over the previous year’s figure of 2,076. Things hit a peak in 2021, with 5,973 in-flight complaints fielded by the FAA, which says it maintains a “zero tolerance” policy on travelers behaving badly.
Alcohol is often cited as a factor in passenger meltdowns. Earlier this year, an allegedly intoxicated Detroit man was removed from a Spirit Airlines flight and arrested after repeatedly propositioning members of the flight crew to join the “mile-high club” with him. In November, a woman flying Alaska Airlines tried to settle her nerves with Chardonnay, allegedly losing control of herself and winding up in flexcuffs as the plane was about to land.
However, booze doesn’t always play a part. Last year, an American Airlines passenger was accused of attacking a flight attendant upon becoming outraged over his meal choices. In 2021, a 23-year-old man flying American had to be duct-taped to his seat after breaking a flight attendant’s nose during a seemingly benign interaction, later blaming his behavior on a brain injury suffered in a street fight. The following year, a passenger aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Seattle to Phoenix pleaded guilty to accusations he openly masturbated at least four times during the sub-three-hour flight.
Solesky is due back in court on February 10. American Airlines did not respond to a request for comment.