Udall takes on drunken airline passengers

Sen. Tom Udall is introducing legislation he hopes will cut down on the number of drunken passengers and cases of air rage.
His legislation, which would stop drunks from getting on a plane, won approval from the Commerce Committee Tuesday.
New Mexico's most notorious drunk passenger case happened in 2006. A drunk Dana Papst stumbled off an airplane and drove the wrong way down I-25, killing five members of a Las Vegas family.
Airplane passengers we talked to said the state needs to address its DWI problem.
"We need to take steps in order to decrease the fatality rate," Keith Romero said.
Udall's legislation requires airlines to train flight attendants and gate agents on how to recognize and deal with air rage, which includes drunk or belligerent passengers.
Under the current law, it is not mandatory for airlines to provide that training.
New Mexico's most recent case of air rage happened a few weeks ago. Keith Wright, 50, took off his clothes on board a plane headed to Los Angeles, which was re-routed to the Sunport.
Officials say a mixture of prescription drugs and booze prompted Wright to take off his clothes and become violent. He had to be restrained by two off-duty officers on the flight.
Udall says 10,000 air rage cases happen each year. That number is up 400 percent from 2000.


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