Ukrainian man in 2012 SLC flight ruckus gets probation

A Ukrainian truck driver accused of screaming in Russian that a plane wing had caught fire before tussling with passengers aboard a 2012 flight is set to serve two years' probation and pay thousands of dollars in damages under a federal judge's order.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby on Wednesday sentenced Anatoliy Baranovich, 47, of Portland, Oregon, to pay $57,000 to Delta Air Lines Inc. for damaging a plane door when he tried to yank it open on the flight from Boston to Salt Lake City.

He told authorities he had been drinking heavily for 50 days before causing the melee.

Baranovich agreed to undergo court-administered drug testing and to avoid going to bars during the two-year period. He spoke with help from a translator.

"I want to apologize to everyone," he said. "I'm a good man, so I didn't do anything mean to any person. I just regret so much that it happened."

Defense attorney Ron Yengich said Baranovich is a good father and husband, and the behavior isn't typical of his client.

Baranovich in March pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew. Conviction on that charge could have meant up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In 2012, Baranovich traveled to Ukraine to build a house, but he began drinking when he could not begin construction, he told authorities. "I never sobered up," Baranovich told an FBI investigator after the incident.

He continued drinking as he flew from Ukraine to Amsterdam and on to Boston, dozing off for most of the flight to Salt Lake City.

Baranovich awoke as the plane was descending and began yelling about the wing, ran back and tried to pry open the exit door, prosecutors said in charging documents.

Several passengers tried to wrestle Baranovich to the floor while he tried to open another emergency door.