American Airlines 'Unruly Passenger' Forces Flight Bound to Washington D.C. to Divert to Kansas City

An American Airlines flight bound to Washington, D.C. was diverted to Kansas City, Missouri on Sunday because of an "unruly passenger."

In a statement sent to CNN, the airline confirmed that American Airlines flight 1775 with service from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. was diverted to Kansas City International Airport due to the passenger who made a scene.

Authorities did not identify the passenger that caused the flight's diversion. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also confirmed to CNN that a passenger disturbance aboard the Airbus A321 was reported on Sunday afternoon.

Kansas City Aviation Department spokesperson Joe McBride told the outlet that the passenger was interfering with the flight crew but did not provide additional details about the incident.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants tweeted on Sunday night that the passenger tried to open the forward passenger door, CBS News reported.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the passenger in question has already been taken into custody. Other passengers on the flight were reportedly being rescheduled on another flight.

American Airlines Says Flight Landed Safely in Kansas City

American Airlines said the flight "safely landed" at Kansas City International Airport in Missouri at around 2:28 p.m. (local time), and "law enforcement was requested to meet the flight on arrival."

Although the plane landed safely, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants described the disturbance as "dangerous and life-threatening." The airlines noted that the passenger was subdued by the crew with the help of other passengers.

Mouaz Moustafa, a Washington, D.C. resident who was aboard the flight, said he saw a flight attendant yelling to another crew to turn the lights on, and the plane started to descend rapidly.

Moustafa noted that more people went up to the front of the plane to subdue the passenger who caused a scene after trying to get into the cockpit and open the plane door.

To stop the passenger from opening the door, Moustafa noted that a flight attendant used a coffee pot to overpower the passenger by hitting him over the head.

"I honestly thought today I might die," Moustafa said as The Hill reported.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants tweeted that "this violent behavior must stop." The union noted that they will continue to collaborate with other flight attendant and customer service agents unions, the FAA, the Department of Transportation, and Congress to ensure that offenders like the American Airlines passenger will be "prosecuted."

Passenger Disruptive Behavior

The American Airlines passenger was not the only passenger who recently showed disruptive behavior during flights.

According to CNN, the FAA received 5,981 reports of unruly passengers as of December 31 last year. Of those numbers, nearly 73 percent or 4,290 were mask-related incidents.

This year, the agency said it had seen 394 unruly passenger reports and 255 mask-related incidents as of February 8.

CBS News reported that the FAA initiated investigations into more than 1,000 incidents last year and another 93 this year. The FAA has requested more than $160,000 in civil fines against disruptive passengers.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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