(CNN) – The airline said in a statement that an American Airlines flight was diverted to Kansas City International Airport in Missouri on Sunday afternoon due to a “disruptive passenger.”
American Airlines Flight 1775 was diverted with service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Washington, DC (DCA) to Kansas City (MCI) due to undisciplined passengerThis was stated in his statement to CNN.
“The flight landed safely at MCI at 2:28 p.m. local time, and law enforcement authorities were requested to interview the flight upon arrival,” she added. “We are grateful to our crew members, who are constantly dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and who handled the circumstances with the utmost skill and professionalism.”
There was a “passenger who interfered with the flight crew’s affairs,” Kansas City Department of Aviation spokesman Joe McBride told CNN, adding that the incident fell within the FBI’s jurisdiction.
The FBI confirmed the incident in a statement to CNN, adding that the person in question had been taken into custody.
“The flight was diverted due to the interference of an unruly passenger in the cabin crew,” the FBI statement said. “The person has been arrested. No further information is available at this time.”
The FAA also confirmed to CNN that cabin crew reported inconvenience to passengers on board the Airbus A321.
Moaz Mustafa, who lives in Washington, D.C., was on the plane and told CNN he saw one flight attendant yell at another to turn on the lights. Mustafa said the plane began descending rapidly.
Mustafa said more people climbed to the front of the plane to help restrain the passenger.
Mustafa also told CNN that the passenger was trying to get into the cabin and opened the plane’s door, and that the flight attendant used a coffeepot to hit the man in the head.
Mustafa said that when the plane landed, the police and the FBI came on board. Passengers were transferred to another flight.
According to Federal Aviation Administration data, 2021 was a bad year for unruly passenger behavior in the United States, with the agency recording 5,981 reports of unruly passengers as of December 31. Of those, 4,290 (nearly 72%) were mask-related incidents.