Step aside Queen Cart Poop Guy.  Move over Squealing Pig in First Class.  There's a new terror in the sky: Angry Identical Twin Hick WannaBe Models!

Two 22-year-old sisters, Cynthia and Crystal Mikuta, on their way to a modeling contest, got into a screaming argument aboard United Airlines flight #857 from San Francisco to Shanghai, China.  The aircraft had 233 passengers and 22 crewmembers on board, including the pilots, according to media reports.

Of course, alcohol was involved, as it seems to always be, being that they decided to down several drinks after the movie ended.  Their incessant shouting began near the lavatories at doors 5L and 5R about four hours into the flight.

Speaking of downing things, one of the passengers reported smelling cigarette smoke in the lavatory.  Whether or not this cigarette smoke was from the sisters, the media reports haven't yet made clear.

Their argument began to grow unruly, with Cynthia telling her sister, "I've gotta get out of here.  Let me off this airplane, I gotta smoke."  At that point, one of the flight attendants tried to calm the sisters down.

That was when Summer of 2001 began early:  One of those lovely passengers, excuse me I mean customers, hauled off and hit the flight attendant right in the face, bloodying her nose.  No joke.

A male crew member then tried to 'escort' the sisters back to their seats and received a nice wallop in the head from Cynthia, the apparently more violent of the two sisters.  As the flight attendants tried to put Cynthia in handcuffs, her sister Crystal jumped on another flight attendant, choked him, and injured his neck.  Both of them were screaming obscenities throughout this entire episode.  The flight attendants eventually got them confined and the pilots diverted the aircraft 1,100 miles to Anchorage, Alaska.

The aircraft was met by airport security and the FBI.  According to the media, "the sisters were arraigned in separate hearings, asked for court-appointed attorneys and were told charges against them could bring 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000."

Could bring.  Could.

United spokeswoman Whitney Staley told the media that "United Airlines takes the issue of air rage very seriously."

Okay, that's good, spokeswoman Staley.  Because we are going to expect your company to honor that one.  "20 Years in prison and fines of up to $250,000" sounds nice on paper and your quote sounds impressive for media sound clips...  In fact, it belongs to the newly created In Our News category of:  That's Nice, But....

That's nice, but... we will see what eventually happens to those two individuals.

We will be following this case closely and expect nothing less than both those women to have full charges brought against them. 

Thanks to Jody McColman, BOSSW for tipping us off to the story.