A passenger aboard an American Airlines flight allegedly tried to barge into the cockpit and open the door of the plane Sunday, according to a video posted to Twitter. The incident forced pilots to conduct an emergency landing.
A passenger can be heard thanking the pilot for landing the plane quickly in a video shared on Twitter.
“Did he try to get at the cockpit door or was he just like trying to open the door of the plane?” the passenger asked.
“He was trying to, but he couldn’t get to it,” the pilot responded. “And then he tried to, and then he actually tried to open the plane door.”
“The plane door and the cockpit door?” The passenger said.
“Yeah,” the pilot responded.
American Airlines shared the following statement on the incident.
“American Airlines flight 1775 with service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Washington, D.C. (DCA) diverted to Kansas City (MCI) due to an unruly passenger displaying erratic behavior, who was ultimately subdued by our crew and with the help of other passengers,” the airline told the Daily Caller. “The flight landed safely at MCI, and law enforcement met 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. We also appreciate the customers who stepped in to assist our crew.”
Chatting with the pilot just now of #AA1775 great pilot he told me that we were 40 mins out of Kansas and he tried to bring us down as soon as possible as a man tried to get into the cockpit then tried to open the plane door. still on tarmac with FBI on scene. pic.twitter.com/jqoYnrJKCG
— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022
Another video posted by the same passenger showed people on the flight watching as a group restrained the man. The passenger who posted the video said the flight attendant used a coffee pot to “subdue” the man who caused the incident. (RELATED: Passenger Reportedly Storms Cockpit, Damages Plane)
passengers held the individual and a flight attendant used a coffee pot to subdue him as the plane descended rapidly. the man was bleeding as the police in this video are taking him off the flight after landing in Kansas #AA1775 pic.twitter.com/HL2JnyYglw
— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022
The Kansas City division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that the individual had been taken into custody, but were unable to comment further due to it being an “ongoing matter.”
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
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported 394 incidents involving unruly passengers from Jan. 1 to Feb. 8.