On Sunday, an unruly passenger on an American Airlines plane attempted to enter the cockpit, which forced the pilot to divert the flight — scheduled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. — to Kansas City, according to ABC News.
“He’s trying to get in the cockpit,” the pilot told air traffic controllers about the passenger, according to reports. “We’ve got four passengers now trying to contain this gentleman.”
The alleged passenger, Juan Remberto Rivas, 50, was being held down when a flight attendant hit him in the head twice with a coffee pot.
A passenger on the flight tweeted about experiencing the emergency landing. “It felt like the plane was free falling and many feared the worst because people weren’t fully aware of what was unfolding.
Per NPR, the airline later confirmed that the flight was diverted “due to an unruly passenger displaying erratic behavior, who was ultimately subdued by our crew and with the help of other passengers. The flight landed safely at Kansas City International Airport, and law enforcement met the flight on arrival.”
The man was taken into custody and charged with assault, intimidating a flight attendant and interfering in the performance of the flight attendant’s duties, according to The Independent.
An Association of Flight Attendants survey from last July stated that 85% of flight attendants dealt with unruly passengers in 2021, and 1 in 5 had experienced physical incidents.