Traveler Charged in Disrupting Flight to Va.

"He was strutting his stuff, just sort of checking everyone out," said one law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

Law enforcement officials said de Oliveira at one point walked toward the beverage cart, which was in front of the cockpit door when the door was briefly opened. A flight attendant told him to return to his seat, and he did, law enforcement officials said.

Weierman said de Oliveira "did not mean to harm anyone, and there was no nexis to terrorism. It was just a mindless act with not a lot of thought behind it."

She declined to say whether the FBI supported the passengers' actions but added that "heightened awareness on the part of passengers" during the week of the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks may have played a role.

"It's a sign of the times that we live in," she said.

De Oliveira was arrested by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department, whose officers met the plane at Dulles.

Loudoun Commonwealth's Attorney James E. Plowman's office took over the case after the U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria declined to prosecute. Officials said state charges were more appropriate because federal law requires proving that someone interfered with the flight crew, which did not occur in this case.

The state charge, authorities said, is broader because it requires proving only that someone interfered with the overall operations of an aircraft.