Police arrested a passenger on a JetBlue flight from Boston to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday for allegedly choking a flight attendant and rushing the cockpit.
The flight was just over one hour from landing in San Juan when Khalil El Dahr unsuccessfully tried to make a call, according to an FBI affidavit. El Dahr then became agitated that the call did not go through.
The enraged passenger yelled for someone to shoot and kill him while strangling a flight attendant with his own tie, according to the FBI. https://t.co/tG6KfAhd1g
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 23, 2021
Roughly 20 minutes later, El Dahr left his seat and rushed the cockpit screaming to be shot in Spanish, the affidavit said. A flight attendant attempted to blocked El Dahr’s access to the flight deck. (RELATED: 2,600 Airline Passengers Became ‘Unruly’ In Mask-Related Incidents This Year, FAA Says)
A member of the flight crew then opened the cockpit door. Once El Dahr saw this, he “grabbed the JetBlue [flight attendant] by their collar and tie with one hand while using his other hand to grab the overhead compartment to gain leverage to kick,” the affidavit says.
El Dahr was finally restrained by six or seven crew members using ties, flex cuffs, and four seatbelt extensions, according to the affidavit. He was arrested in San Juan shortly after the plane landed.
Airline companies sent a letter to the Justice Department in June requesting unruly passengers be prosecuted after a rise in incidents.