A University physics graduate student is in the neurological unit at the University of Utah Hospital after she caused a disturbance on a United Airlines flight from Eugene to Denver on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City FBI said.
Bogdana Georgieva, 35, is charged with interference with a flight crew for disrupting United Express Flight 6664. She missed her initial appearance in federal court Thursday because she had not been cleared medically for release.
Georgieva, a resident of Bulgaria, became disruptive to the point that the pilot decided to reroute the airplane and land in Salt Lake City, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Patrick Kiernan said.
During the course of the flight, she attempted to charge the cockpit and had to be subdued by crew members and other passengers, Kiernan said.
When the plane landed in Salt Lake City, Georgieva was escorted off the plane and continued to resist until brought under control by law enforcement, Kiernan said.
“She started making references to a bomb aboard the plane,” Kiernan said.
At that point, the plane was evacuated. A police bomb squad searched the plane and cleared it to continue to Denver.
Georgieva was taken to the University of Utah Hospital for a mental health evaluation, where she remained Thursday afternoon.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kennedy told U.S. Magistrate Judge David Nuffer that his office wants Georgieva to get the medical care she needs, but asked Nuffer to order her released into the government’s custody when she is discharged from the hospital.
Nuffer issued the order and ruled that the hospital should report on Georgieva’s condition.
She will still need to appear in court when she is released, Nuffer said. If she isn’t released by Tuesday, a status conference is scheduled for that day.
A conviction on a charge of interference with a flight crew carries a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Georgieva took a bottle of water from the passenger sitting next to her, causing a dispute and leading the passenger to request a seat change. When the female passenger got up to move, Georgieva allegedly threw the woman into the aisle, charging papers said.
Georgieva then began yelling that she had a baby named Jesus, her uncle had impregnated her and that “President Bush was behind it all,” according to charging documents.
“It shocked everyone here,” said first-year physics graduate student Nima Dinyari, a classmate of Georgieva’s.
Dinyari described Georgieva as mellow and polite, saying that he never had any problems with her beyond occasionally getting annoyed with the questions she asked in class.
“She seemed to be very nice,” he said.
Dinyari said Georgieva didn’t socialize a lot with other students outside class because she was older and came from a different cultural background than most of her classmates, but he remembered chatting with her on Monday about winter break.
“She wasn’t just about physics,” Dinyari said. “She had some social skills.”
Dinyari said Georgieva was traveling to Denver for a conference, where she planned to look for a job.
According to her University Web site, Georgieva planned to complete a master’s degree in physics this spring to aid in her teaching of mathematics. She previously taught mathematics courses as an assistant professor at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore.
Georgieva already has a doctorate in mathematics from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in mathematics from the University.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.