An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., was forced to make an emergency landing Sunday in Kansas City, Missouri, after a passenger tried to break into the cockpit.
Another passenger on the flight, Mouaz Moustafa, tweeted that a flight attendant used a coffee pot to subdue the man.
“A flight attendant ran to the back of the plane and got the coffee pot and continues to bash the guy on the head,” Mr. Moustafa told The New York Times, noting that the man was “bleeding profusely.”
American Airlines said in a statement to CNN that the landing went smoothly, despite the circumstances.
“The flight landed safely at MCI at 2:28 p.m. local time, and law enforcement was requested to meet the flight on arrival,” the airline said. “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.”
Charles Dayoub, FBI special agent in charge in Kansas City, said in a statement that the man was taken into custody, adding that he could not comment further on the investigation.
According to audio from LiveAtc.net, four passengers helped subdue the suspect.
As of Feb. 8, there have been 394 unruly passenger reports and 93 investigations initiated in 2022. 255 of those were related to masking policies, according to the FAA.
• Peter Santo can be reached at psanto@washingtontimes.com.
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