Master Sgt. Bryan Rivera, right, Kadena Air Base protocol non-commissioned officer in charge, was awarded the Air and Space commendation medal for heroism on May 10, 2024, by his commander, Maj. David Loska. (Jonathan Sifuentes/U.S. Air Force)
An airman stationed on Okinawa was decorated recently for helping subdue an unruly passenger attacking flight attendants on a Japanese airliner and threatening to open an emergency exit midflight.
Master Sgt. Bryan Rivera, 46, protocol noncommissioned officer in charge at Kadena Air Base, on May 10 was awarded the Air and Space Commendation Medal for meritorious service by his commander, Maj. David Loska.
Rivera said he was spurred to act Jan. 16 on an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Seattle by his memories of 9/11, an event he witnessed as a native New Yorker.
“I definitely wanted to do my part to prevent anything like that from happening again,” he told Stars and Stripes by phone May 17. “I’ve always asked myself, if I was faced with a situation like that, like those passengers on the planes on 9/11, what would I do, how would I react to a situation like that?”
Rivera was traveling alone on emergency leave to see his mother when another passenger — described by an airline spokeswoman as inebriated — began punching, kicking and biting the aircrew and other passengers, Rivera said.
“It happened so fast,” he said.
The passenger, an American, had removed the safety strap from the door and placed his hand on the lever, Rivera said. Someone started screaming, “No, no, no!” and Rivera moved quickly to subdue the unruly passenger.
Rivera grabbed the man’s arms, pulled him from the exit door and onto the floor, where they grappled until Rivera subdued him. Rivera injured his wrist in the scuffle, he said.
He said several other individuals helped restrain and attempted to calm the individual as the aircraft made its way back to Tokyo.
The passenger was handed over to police at the Haneda Airport, the All Nippon Airways spokeswoman told Stars and Stripes by phone April 16. Japanese spokespeople are often required to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
Rivera said he was less than a mile from ground zero on 9/11, a day that motivated him to join the Air Force.
On Jan. 16, his thoughts turned to his family waiting for him on Okinawa, and if he would see them again, he said.
“Life has a funny way of putting you to the test,” he said. “Seeing myself in a situation where I can do something to defend myself, at the same time answering that long life question that I’ve had, if I was ever in that circumstance like [9/11], how would I react? So that moment helped me figure all that out.”
