by Chris Roberts, Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - An American Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles diverted to El Paso on Wednesday after a passenger became unruly and had to be restrained by flight crew members and passengers, airline officials said.
“The passenger was acting erratically,” said American Airlines spokesman John Hotard. “He stood up and he wouldn’t follow flight attendants’ instructions.”
Police said the man was subdued by members of the flight crew and passengers, then placed in flexible handcuffs.
The man was still combative when authorities arrived at the El Paso International Airport to arrest him, police said. He was later taken to Thomason Hospital in El Paso for medical and psychological evaluation.
“He was making unintelligible statements,” when officers arrived at the scene, said Sgt. Al Velarde with the El Paso Police Department.
Velarde said the man, described as being in his mid-30’s, faces federal charges of interfering with a flight crew.
All of American Airlines Flight 2437’s 170 passengers and seven crew members were taken off the flight as authorities searched the plane for bombs. The search turned up nothing.
Passengers began re-boarding the flight just after 7 p.m. CDT.
The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.
Passenger Don McLaughlin said the man “just went nuts.”
“He was disoriented and wanted to get off the plane, he wanted the plane turned around,” McLaughlin told Dallas-Fort Worth radio station WBAP. “He kept trying to make his way forward to the front. Of course me and about 20 other people made sure that didn’t happen. When he finally flipped out we just had to take him down and tie him up.”