An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington, was forced to land in Kansas City, Missouri after the incident.
An American Airlines flight that was set to carry passengers from LA to DC, was forced to make an emergency landing in Kansas City after a passenger’s display of extremely erratic behavior.
The man, reportedly middle-aged, has not yet been identified by police. On the said flight, the unruly passenger tried to break into the cockpit and open the exit door.
The pilot told the air traffic controllers “He’s trying to get in the cockpit. We’ve got four passengers now trying to contain this gentleman.”
Mouaz Moustafa, a passenger who was onboard Flight 1775, said that he had heard a commotion among flight attendants who were trying to subdue the passenger.
According to the passengers of the said airline, 4 other passengers held the man and try to contain him, and eventually, a flight attendant used a coffee pot to take control of him as the plane descended.
Among other passengers who were also flying to DC in Flight 1775, Karen Alston shared that her movie was interrupted by the lights abruptly turning on above her head before she saw a few passengers rushing toward the front of the plane.
Another passenger, Jake Smith, said that he was headed toward the lavatory when he spotted a flight attendant running “full speed down the aisle.”
American Airlines charged the suspect after allegedly punching the flight attendant twice. The pilot explained: “We have 2-armed people on board that is securing him right now.”
In a statement, American Airlines said: “The flight landed safely at MCI at 2:28 pm local time, and law enforcement was requested to meet the flight on arrival. We’re grateful to our crew members, who are consistently dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and who handled the circumstances with the utmost skill and professionalism.”
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) tweeted that the passenger tried to open the forward passenger door. They also said: “This violent behavior must stop.”
“APFA will continue to collaborate with other Flight Attendant and Customer Service Agent Unions, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Congress to ensure these offenders are prosecuted to the full extent of the law with appropriate fines, criminal penalties, and applicable flying bans,” they added.
The FBI in Kansas City release a statement and confirmed that the man had been taken into custody, but was unable to comment on further information due to the ongoing matter.
In a troubling spike of unruly passenger cases with airlines, the Sunday incident is just the latest. The report says that these kinds of misconduct passengers case reports have already reached 6,375 and counting to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) since January 2021 and nearly 400 more incidents have been reported so far in 2022, according to the administration.
Federal Aviation Admiration (FAA) is still enforcing its zero-tolerance policy for in-flight disruptions which could lead to fines as high as $52,000 and up to 20 years in prison.
Last November, the FAA revealed some unruly passengers could start to face criminal prosecution after establishing information-sharing protocols with the Department of Justice.