Passenger removed from Houston-bound plane

We haven't had a good story about a Houston-related airplane disturbance since everyone's favorite co-pastor pitched a fit and got thrown off a Continental flight a year and a half ago — but Wednesday night, someone else made a stink and forced a Houston-bound Continental Express plane to make an unscheduled landing.

About 20 minutes after the plane took off from Dallas, 23-year-old passenger Brian Thomas Vande-Stouwe of Phoenix reportedly got out of his seat and began wandering around the plane — and then he seems to have, for lack of a better term, freaked out. "He walked up to the front of the plane, and looked at the pilots' door for a moment, and that definitely got my attention," fellow passenger Charlie Ballmer of Houston said. "And then, he turned to the main cabin door, and grabbed hold of the bar to open the door. I sprang from my seat, and ran toward him." The official federal complaint about the incident reported that Vande-Stouwe was yelling obscenities and said he wanted to "get off the f-ing plane," apparently disregarding the fact that the first step would have been a doozy. Ballmer and a flight attendant got between Vande-Stouwe and the exit door and were able to get him in a seat; the plane landed at Easterwood Field in College Station and Vande-Stouwe was turned over to local police.

Vande-Stouwe was charged with felony interference with a flight crew and flight attendant and will remain in federal custody until a hearing in Houston, which is expected today. If he's convicted, he could be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As for Ballmer, he's a veteran of airplane disturbances — sort of. Turns out he was on a plane in Orange County, Calif, the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. That flight ended up being grounded, but Ballmer said it made him more aware of what's happening when he travels. "I do have a great awareness of what goes on in planes," he told the Chronicle. "I think it was instinct. My legs were moving before my mind had even engaged."