WARNING — Graphic video: Passenger video shows man being disruptive, being subdued on Frontier flightA Frontier Airlines flight headed from New York LaGuardia to Orlando had to be diverted Wednesday night. CNN reports the flight was diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina around 8 p.m. due to a “disruptive passenger.”Frontier flight 1335 took off early, shortly before 6 p.m., and was scheduled to arrive at 9:11 p.m. at Orlando.However, it was diverted to RDU at approximately 8:15 p.m., with RDU law enforcement, fire-rescue and Wake County EMS responding, the airport said.At about 9:40 p.m., the flight was able to resume its journey to Orlando, according to RDU.It finally arrived at its destination at 11:10 p.m. We spoke to Savannah Figueroa, a passenger on board who tells us the man had been loud from the beginning, then started accusing a mom and child of poking him to steal his DNA.Figueroa says after that, he began threatening others on the flight. “He was even saying ‘I’ll bull rush you into a corner and kill you, how’re they going to stop me’. He was making threats and then I guess he stood up and tried to break a window and that’s when everyone jumped on him,” she said. Figueroa says a group of men took it upon themselves to try to calm the passenger down, but when that didn’t work, they tied him up with belts and tools from a first aid kit. “The flight attendants had also barricaded the front of the plane with their carts. I don’t know if that’s a standard procedure or if they were nervous he was going to try to rush the cockpit,” she said.The news comes just a day after an American Airlines flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles was diverted to New Mexico overnight after a passenger made a “threatening statement” to a crew member.Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday reiterating his call for the Justice Department to prosecute unruly passengers and place them on a “no-fly” list.The Federal Aviation Administration adopted a zero-tolerance policy for unruly, sometimes violent passengers on board flights in 2021.The FAA has been cracking down, hitting unruly passengers with fines.One $45,000 fine announced in August of last year was against a passenger accused of throwing his luggage at another passenger and, while lying on the aisle floor, “grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt.”Another passenger would not wear his face mask, the FAA, said, and “acted as though his hand was a gun and made a ‘pew, pew’ noise as if he was shooting a fellow passenger.”CNN contributed to this report
WARNING — Graphic video: Passenger video shows man being disruptive, being subdued on Frontier flight
A Frontier Airlines flight headed from New York LaGuardia to Orlando had to be diverted Wednesday night.
CNN reports the flight was diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina around 8 p.m. due to a “disruptive passenger.”
Frontier flight 1335 took off early, shortly before 6 p.m., and was scheduled to arrive at 9:11 p.m. at Orlando.
However, it was diverted to RDU at approximately 8:15 p.m., with RDU law enforcement, fire-rescue and Wake County EMS responding, the airport said.
At about 9:40 p.m., the flight was able to resume its journey to Orlando, according to RDU.
It finally arrived at its destination at 11:10 p.m.
We spoke to Savannah Figueroa, a passenger on board who tells us the man had been loud from the beginning, then started accusing a mom and child of poking him to steal his DNA.
Figueroa says after that, he began threatening others on the flight.
“He was even saying ‘I’ll bull rush you into a corner and kill you, how’re they going to stop me’. He was making threats and then I guess he stood up and tried to break a window and that’s when everyone jumped on him,” she said.
Figueroa says a group of men took it upon themselves to try to calm the passenger down, but when that didn’t work, they tied him up with belts and tools from a first aid kit.
“The flight attendants had also barricaded the front of the plane with their carts. I don’t know if that’s a standard procedure or if they were nervous he was going to try to rush the cockpit,” she said.
The news comes just a day after an American Airlines flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles was diverted to New Mexico overnight after a passenger made a “threatening statement” to a crew member.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday reiterating his call for the Justice Department to prosecute unruly passengers and place them on a “no-fly” list.
The Federal Aviation Administration adopted a zero-tolerance policy for unruly, sometimes violent passengers on board flights in 2021.
The FAA has been cracking down, hitting unruly passengers with fines.
One $45,000 fine announced in August of last year was against a passenger accused of throwing his luggage at another passenger and, while lying on the aisle floor, “grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt.”
Another passenger would not wear his face mask, the FAA, said, and “acted as though his hand was a gun and made a ‘pew, pew’ noise as if he was shooting a fellow passenger.”
CNN contributed to this report