A US man who tried to flirt with a young woman on board a plane by bragging he was carrying enough poisonous gas to knock out the entire aircraft found himself arrested and banned for life from Delta Air Lines.

Bryan Sisco, 40, allegedly knocked back five whiskey-and-cokes at an airport bar in Dallas on Friday before boarding his Atlanta-bound plane, on which he took a wrong seat and found himself next to Danielle Valimont, 23, from Griffin, US, The Commercial Appeal reported.

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When confronted by a flight attendant about being in the wrong seat, Sisco said he and Valimont were newlyweds.

The 40-year-old then whipped out a butane lighter, sparking it near Valimont's legs, and boasted that he had a canister that contained enough gas to knock out everyone on the plane.

In further attempt to impress her, Sisco also claimed he was an architect and a federal marshal, and his father was in the CIA, according to Valimont who wrote about the incident on her blog.

"He was very crass with his language and called me "B****" and "F*****" in a friendly, joking way - if that's possible"

The quick-thinking Valimont pretended she needed the bathroom and managed to alert a flight attendant.

The flight was diverted to Memphis, where a baffled Sisco, who had been sleeping and oblivious to the unfolding panic, was arrested by officers who boarded the plane.

"I fell asleep, and woke up in handcuffs in Memphis with the FBI questioning me. ... I couldn't even feel my thumb, the handcuffs were put on so tight," he said.

Sisco added that he was puzzled by the fuss which came about "because of that one comment".

"We were talking, sharing M&Ms, eating chocolate, having a good time," he said. "I fabricated some truths about myself. ... I thought we were getting along pretty good."

The flight continued on its way to Atlanta, while Sisco was released on a $10,000 bond. He faces charges of carrying a weapon or explosive on an aircraft.

Read more at The Commercial Appeal.