Before he boarded a JetSmarter flight in Las Vegas, Maurice Paola was a little-known DJ and music producer. Now, he’s a symbol of private jet air rage and screening procedures at the flying service start-up.
Paola was one of several passengers on the flight headed to White Plains, New York, on Sept. 3. About 45 minutes into the flight, according to a criminal complaint and other people on the plane, Paola started screaming and threatening the other passengers.
As part of an investigation into customer complaints and lawsuits filed against JetSmarter, CNBC obtained an exclusive video of the flight. Taken by another passenger, the video shows Paola cursing and threatening to decapitate people who tried to stop him. He shouted: “Heads will be chopped off. Heads will be chopped off.”
He also screamed, “I’m a sick f—. I was just in a psych hospital. You have no idea.”
Paola then threatened other passengers in the small cabin of the Gulfstream IV, saying he would “kill them and their children,” referring to a family on board that had a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old in the seats behind him, according to the federal criminal complaint.