A U.S. Airways flight from Charlotte to London was diverted because of an unruly passenger, according to the airline.
Sarah Buffett is accused of assaulting and intimidating the flight crew on board, according to court documents.
The documents show Buffett was flying to London Tuesday night when she tried to smash a window on the plane.
Homeland Security special agents said Buffett, a partner at Nelson Mullins and an immigration and corporate attorney, became unruly during the flight.
Channel 9 got the federal affidavit stating Buffett had become physically aggressive and threatening. The flight crew had to bind Buffett with plastic restrains, but she was able to get out of them twice. Eventually, they had to tape her lower legs together and a passenger held her down.
The plane turned around near Nova Scotia and landed in Philadelphia.
Crystal Williams, the executive director for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said this behavior is unlike Buffett.
"This is not who she is. I've known her for at least 15 years if not longer. She would the last person in the world I would have predicated to behave in a manner like this,” Williams said.
Channel 9 went to Buffett's home in south Charlotte, but no one answered the door.
The affidavit shows Buffett told Homeland Security agents she had three glasses of wine and had taken sleeping pills. She had a prescription for the pills to help with her insomnia.
Williams believes the medication and alcohol is wholly to blame for this mid-flight episode.
“I would say it would have to have been the only factor, because it is inconsistent with everything I know and everything I have seen about her character and personality”.
Buffett has served on the board of AILA Carolinas Chapter and Williams says she has done pro-bono work through the organization.
Her law firm released this statement: "While we do not know all the details yet, the firm does have an expectation of personal responsibility on the part of all of our partners."
Buffett has been suspended from Nelson Mullins pending an investigation. She has since bonded out of jail, but a judge told her she cannot take a commercial flight until this case is resolved.
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