VIDEO: Volatile incident involving combative passenger causes Atlanta-bound Delta flight to be diverted to Oklahoma City, FBI investigating
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta was diverted to Oklahoma City after a passenger allegedly attempted to make announcements over the plane's loudspeaker and became combative Friday night.
Flight 1730 landed safely in Oklahoma City and was met by law enforcement officers after it was diverted from its course.
A Delta spokesperson confirmed to Nexstar Media that the unruly passenger began fighting with the flight crew after an attendant tried to stop him from making the announcements.
Cellphone videos taken on the flight show other passengers and flight crew members struggling with the man, attempting to subdue him.
Click here to view the Twitter video posted by an individual who was on the flight. Warning: Profanity is spoken in the video.
The individual who posted the video said the agitated passenger announced that they needed to be close to their oxygen masks and that he then attempted to open the door that goes to outside the plane.
She said crew members then called for "all the strong men" on the plane to come to the front and restrain him.
The following NBC News video shows a group of men subduing the agitated passenger, holding him down on the floor of the aisle:
In the next NBC News video, a passenger from the plane gives his firsthand account of what happened:
An Oklahoma City law enforcement official said the man was taken to the hospital after the plane landed.
Police said the FBI is handling the investigation.
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An FBI official said she could not yet comment on the incident.
A Delta Airlines spokesperson released the following statement:
“Thanks to the crew and passengers of Delta Flight 1730 (LAX to ATL) who assisted in detaining an unruly passenger as the flight diverted to Oklahoma City (OKC). The aircraft landed without incident and the passenger was removed by law enforcement. We apologize to our customers for the delay and any additional inconvenience this caused.”
DELTA SPOKESPERSON
A similar incident on another Delta flight that was diverted occurred on Monday, June 7, when an agitated passenger tried to force his way into the cockpit of a plane heading from Los Angeles to Nashville.
An individual identified as Asiel Christian Norton allegedly rushed to the front of the plane and pounded on the door leading to the flight deck, yelling “We need to land this plane!”
Flight attendants and passengers subdued Norton and FBI responded once the plane landed in Albuquerque, N.M.