An American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) flight from Los Angeles to Washington D.C had to be diverted and make an emergency landing in Kansas City due to a unruly passenger.
An American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) spokesperson confirmed to AeroTime that flight AA1775 with service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Washington, D.C. (DCA) was diverted to Kansas City (MCI) on February 13, 2022 “due to an unruly passenger displaying erratic behavior”. The spokesperson added that the passenger was ”ultimately subdued by our crew and with the help of other passengers”.
According to witnesses, a passenger tried to break into the aircraft’s cockpit and attempted to open an emergency exit door.
Passengers were able to capture the incident when flight attendants and fellow passengers tried to subdue the unruly passenger.
The FBI have boarded flight #AA1775 and are going through the scene after a flight attendant used a coffee pot to strike a middle aged man multiple times who was attempting to open the plane door. pic.twitter.com/L7FYeedzuD
— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022
According to some witnesses, a flight attendant had to make do with a coffee pot to use as a weapon to strike the unruly passenger who attempted to open the emergency exit door.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, representing flight attendants of American Airlines (A1G) (AAL), confirmed in a tweet that the unruly passenger tried to open the forward passenger door of the aircraft.
Today, we witnessed another dangerous, life-threatening incident on an American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) flight from Los Angeles, CA, to Washington, D.C., when a passenger attempted to open the forward passenger door…1/3
— Association of Professional Flight Attendants (@APFAunity) February 13, 2022
American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) told AeroTime that the flight was able to safely land at Kansas City Airport (MCI), where the unruly passenger was met by law enforcement on arrival.
Flight tracker site FlightRadar was able to capture the flight’s diversion:
Here is a video of our flights path as we descended from 30,900 feet in less than 8 minutes as we spirals passengers struggled to hold the man. Everyone on the plane thought it was the end for everybody #AA1775 pic.twitter.com/uqlSCJlhRQ
— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022
Statement regarding a diverted flight to @KCIAirport earlier today, from FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub. pic.twitter.com/ql5cQRpbZM
— FBI Kansas City (@FBIKansasCity) February 13, 2022
FBI Kansas City has released a statement regarding the incident, saying that the flight was diverted due to a passenger interfering with the flight crew. FBI Kansas City also said that, “The individual has been taken into custody. As this is an ongoing matter, the FBI is unable to comment further.”
American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) added: “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. We also appreciate the customers who stepped in to assist our crew.”