(Newswire.net — July 13, 2017) — The passenger punched a flight attendant while trying to open the exit door, forcing the Delta Airlines flight, with 270 people aboard, to return to Washington State.
Police arrested a man whose name has not been disclosed. The FBI is conducting an investigation.
According to the FBI, nearly an hour after Delta Flight 129 had toaken off, a 23-year-old man, sitting in the first class cabin, started panicking and a flight attendant approached to calm him down. The passenger then turned violent and punched the flight attendant.
Passengers on the flight told KIRO-TV that upon taking off, they saw commotion in the first class and heard a flight attendant reporting a problem to the flight crew. The airplane then turned around and landed back to Seattle.
“One of the flight attendants ran back and said there was a Code 3,” passenger Dustin Jones, who was seated just behind the curtains that led to first class, told KIRO-TV. “There was a serious fight up front,” he added.
Upon arriving to gates, Jones saw the man being handcuffed and being rolled into the terminal in a wheelchair. One flight attendant and one passenger were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment. The suspect was also injured, but declined medical treatment.
“He started yelling for help,” Jones said, adding that the suspect “turned the wheelchair over in the middle of the airport, screaming for people to help him.”
According to another passenger, the commotion started after the suspect had started complaining he could not breathe and attempted to open the exit door. The flight attendant reportedly smashed a wine bottle over the unruly passenger’s head to subdue him.
The Airline described the incident as “s security breach,” and confirmed “the passenger was restrained on board and was removed from the flight by law enforcement without further incident” when the aircraft landed back at Seattle Tacoma International airport.
According to the FBI, there was no evidence to suggest it was a national security threat.
After some five-hour delay, the flight departed again for Beijing.
“The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and more details about the incident will be provided and the charges announced at the subject’s initial appearance in federal court,” the FBI said.