( CNN ) -- Federal authorities filed a criminal complaint Friday against a 56-year-old man whose scrawled note invoking `` Gilligan 's Island '' led a Hawaiian Airlines pilot to turn around a Maui-bound flight and return Wednesday to Portland , Oregon . Joseph Hedlund Johnson , of Salem , Oregon , was charged with the federal crime of interference with the performance and duties of a flight crew member or attendant . He is expected to surrender to authorities on Monday . The crime of interference with the performance and duties of a flight crew member or attendant carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine . According to the complaint and a 13-page supporting affidavit , Johnson and his girlfriend , Caroll Ann Miller , boarded Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39 on Wednesday morning bound for Kahului , Hawaii , on the island of Maui . Once aboard , Johnson became upset because he was not allowed to store his bag under his exit-row seat , according to the affidavit , which was written by an FBI agent after interviewing Johnson , Miller and the flight crew . About 45 minutes into the flight , Johnson gave a comment card in a sealed envelope to a flight attendant , who opened it , read it and gave it to the lead flight attendant , who then gave it to the captain , it said . `` I thought I was going to die , we were so high up , '' the card said . `` I thought to myself : I hope we do n't crash and burn or worse yet landing in the ocean , living through it , only to be eaten by sharks , or worse yet , end up on some place like Gilligan 's Island , stranded , or worse yet , be eaten by a tribe of headhunters , speaking of headhunters , why do they just eat outsiders , and not the family members ? Strange ... and what if the plane ripped apart in mid-flight and we plumited ( sic ) to earth , landed on Gilligan 's Island and then lived through it , and the only woman there was Mrs. Thurston Howell III ? No Mary Anne ( my favorite ) no Ginger , just Lovey ! If it were just her , I think I 'd opt for the sharks , maybe the headhunters . '' The `` Gilligan 's Island '' references were to a 1960s-vintage CBS television comedy about a charter boat crew and their oddball passengers who become shipwrecked and wind up living together on a tropical island . The pilot told investigators that , considering Johnson 's earlier behavior regarding his bag , he felt threatened by the card and decided -- now about 90 minutes into the flight -- to turn the jet around . The North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD ) scrambled two fighter jets to escort the plane back to Portland . Passengers were told that mechanical problems were to blame and did not learn about the perceived threat until after they arrived back at their starting point . There , Johnson -- apparently oblivious to his role in the decision to turn around -- was met by FBI agents , who interviewed him , the flight crew and his girlfriend . Investigators searched the plane , refueled it , and sent it off once again for Hawaii -- minus Johnson and Miller . Johnson told authorities that he had flown only about four times in his life and that the Maui-bound flight was his first over water ; that he had occupied himself first by reading in-flight magazines and then by filling out comment cards provided by the airline . He said he had lifted the phrase for the card `` I thought I was going to die '' from comedian Mike Myers , the affidavit said . `` Johnson stated that he did n't think anyone would open it during the flight , '' the affidavit added . `` He told me that he thought the card was going to be taken back to an office somewhere , opened , and everyone in the room would 'get a laugh ' from it , and that perhaps he 'd even get some frequent flyer miles out of it . Johnson stated he did n't intend to scare anyone and he would not have written his name on the card if it was a threat . Johnson stated that he felt bad about what had happened and that he was sorry . '' `` The safety and security of airline travel is of paramount importance , particularly following the events of Christmas Day , '' said Acting U.S. Attorney Kent Robinson in a news release referring to the botched December 25 bombing aboard a Northwest Airlines jet . Authorities `` will take all necessary steps to assure that air travel is safe , and that standards of conduct for airline passengers are enforced . And everyone who flies should also know that communicating with a flight crew about crashing airplanes will not be viewed as a joke . '' Johnson is to surrender Monday to authorities . CNN was unable to contact Johnson or Miller .
Incident on Seattle - bound flight on Wednesday . Joseph Hedlund Johnson , of Salem , Oregon , charged with a federal crime . Johnson wrote note on comment card invoking ` ` Devil 's Island '' Affidavit . Johnson said he did n't think he would be looked at during trial .