Forced to pee in sick bag

An air passenger says he was forced to urinate into an airsick bag after flight attendants refused to let him use the toilet.

James Whipple says he was repeatedly prevented from entering the bathroom during a SkyWest Airlines flight from Boise to Salt Lake City.

Mr Whipple told the Salt Lake Tribune: "It was like I had no choice. I started to urinate on myself. So, thinking the way I thought, I grabbed one of those vomit bags.

"I didn't think I did anything wrong. I could have relieved myself all over my pants. It was almost like that was what she preferred me to do."

The captain had left the 'fasten seat belt' light on during the hour-long flight because the bathroom was unusable - the light was out.

"I really had to go. I kept asking three or four times, 'may I use the bathroom?' She kept telling me no. The fourth time I asked, we were in final descent, which was her excuse," Mr Whipple said.

Mr Whipple, from Salt Lake City, discreetly used the sick bag but was confronted by the flight attendant and admitted what he had done.

When the plane reached the terminal, he was arrested and taken to a police station at the airport. No charges were filed and he was allowed to go home after two hours.

A SkyWest spokeswoman said Mr Whipple had wanted to use the bathroom while the "fasten seat belt" light was illuminated, which was against Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

But the airline apologised to him on behalf of the attendant and promised to send him some travel vouchers.