
View from a Delta 737 in flight
A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight Friday ran to the cockpit door and began to bang on it while screaming, “Stop this plane,” causing the flight to divert to Albuquerque
Delta Flight 386 was en route from Los Angeles to Nashville when the incident took place. The Boeing 737-900 had 162 passengers and six crew members on board.
Video shared on social media shows the man, shoeless and restrained by plastic handcuffs, repeatedly shouting, “Stop this plane!”
The pilot declared an emergency and can be heard saying that the passenger has been restrained.
“Is there still a struggle going?” air traffic control asked, to which the pilot responded, “Uh, he is restrained now Delta 386”
The flight departed Los Angeles International Airport at 11:30 a.m. local time and landed at the Albuquerque International Sunport at 2:13 p.m. Mountain Time after one hour and 43 minutes in the air.
The airline said in a statement that passengers and crew members assisted in stopping and detaining the “unruly” passenger.
“The plane landed safely and the passenger was removed by police and the FBI,” it said, adding that the passenger “is in custody now.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Albuquerque said it was “responding to a report of a diverted flight” but added that “[T]here is no threat to the public at this time.”
Delta took the remain passengers to their final destination on a new aircraft, an Airbus 321, departing the Sunport at 9:59 p.m. The flight landed in Nashville at 1:45 a.m. local time the next day.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)