Latest news with #Flightradar24
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
An American Airlines flight turned around after a passenger tried to drag a flight attendant down the aisle, an affidavit says
American Airlines passengers experienced a flight-to-nowhere on Tuesday. An affidavit said a 24-year-old assaulted a flight attendant and tried to drag them down the aisle. The captain turned the plane around and landed back in Connecticut an hour after taking off. An American Airlines flight turned around after a passenger assaulted a member of the cabin crew, an affidavit from an FBI agent says. Flight 3359 took off from Hartford, Connecticut, on Tuesday, bound for Chicago. According to data from Flightradar24, it departed four and a half hours later than scheduled — but there was further disruption in store. Around thirty minutes into the journey, a passenger stood up, started to take off his shirt, and ran to the back of the plane shouting, "Help me," per the affidavit, which was made by FBI special agent Alan Szulwach. It adds that the passenger, 24-year-old Julius Jordan Priester, then grabbed a flight attendant by the collar and "forcefully brought the victim to the ground." The affidavit says Priester then tried to drag the flight attendant up the aisle while ignoring the crew's instructions to stop. Another flight attendant notified the captain, who declared an emergency and diverted the Embraer 175 back to Hartford. The affidavit says other passengers intervened to stop Priester, who was returned to a seat. It adds that he then "continued to act in an erratic manner," and made "incoherent statements." According to Flightradar24, the E175 landed back at Bradley International Airport just over an hour after taking off from there. Priester was removed from the plane by state police and taken to a local hospital for evaluation, where he was arrested by FBI agent Szulwach. The Justice Department said Priester appeared in a Hartford court on Wednesday and has been detained pending a bond hearing scheduled for Friday. Priester was charged with one count of interference with a flight crew. If found guilty, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside US working hours. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
An American Airlines flight turned around after a passenger tried to drag a flight attendant down the aisle, an affidavit says
An American Airlines flight turned around after a passenger assaulted a member of the cabin crew, an affidavit from an FBI agent says. Flight 3359 took off from Hartford, Connecticut, on Tuesday, bound for Chicago. According to data from Flightradar24, it departed four and a half hours later than scheduled — but there was further disruption in store. Around thirty minutes into the journey, a passenger stood up, started to take off his shirt, and ran to the back of the plane shouting, "Help me," per the affidavit, which was made by FBI special agent Alan Szulwach. It adds that the passenger, 24-year-old Julius Jordan Priester, then grabbed a flight attendant by the collar and "forcefully brought the victim to the ground." The affidavit says Priester then tried to drag the flight attendant up the aisle while ignoring the crew's instructions to stop. Another flight attendant notified the captain, who declared an emergency and diverted the Embraer 175 back to Hartford. The affidavit says other passengers intervened to stop Priester, who was returned to a seat. It adds that he then "continued to act in an erratic manner," and made "incoherent statements." According to Flightradar24, the E175 landed back at Bradley International Airport just over an hour after taking off from there. Priester was removed from the plane by state police and taken to a local hospital for evaluation, where he was arrested by FBI agent Szulwach. The Justice Department said Priester appeared in a Hartford court on Wednesday and has been detained pending a bond hearing scheduled for Friday. Priester was charged with one count of interference with a flight crew. If found guilty, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside US working hours.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
A Southwest plane was seemingly struck by lightning during Memorial Day weekend
A Southwest Airlines crew reported that their plane was struck by lightning on Memorial Day Weekend. The Aviation Herald reported that air traffic control was unable to hear the pilots as a result. The plane was taken out of service for inspection, the airline said. A Southwest Airlines plane was seemingly struck by lightning while on approach to landing. Flight 168, from Tampa, Florida, to Denver, took off around 7 p.m. local time on Sunday — about two and a half hours behind schedule, per data from Flightradar24. The journey, during the busy Memorial Day travel period, appeared to be going smoothly until it was about to land. In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the flight crew reported a lightning strike. A Southwest spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that there was "a possible lightning strike" on the aircraft. "Our maintenance teams took the aircraft out of service for inspection. There were no injuries," the spokesperson added. The Aviation Herald reported that air traffic control could no longer hear the pilots after the strike. However, it added that controllers were able to transmit instructions to them, and the 737 landed safely in Denver 12 minutes later. Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist at told the outlet that the airport reported lightning in the hour before the flight landed. "This is a challenge flying into and out of Denver this time of year, as afternoon and evening thunderstorms can be almost a daily occurrence," he added. The National Weather Service says airliners are struck by lightning about once or twice a year on average. Jets avoid thunderstorms as much as possible because aircraft can trigger strikes because their presence enhances the electric fields found in storms. Commercial planes are designed with several parts to help mitigate the impact of lightning, such as a metal mesh that conducts electricity away from passengers and internal electronics. Last New Year's Eve, a United Airlines plane from Newark to London turned around and diverted to Boston after the crew reported a lightning strike. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Climate
- Business Insider
A Southwest plane was seemingly struck by lightning during Memorial Day weekend
A Southwest Airlines plane was seemingly struck by lightning while on approach to landing. Flight 168, from Tampa, Florida, to Denver, took off around 7 p.m. local time on Sunday — about two and a half hours behind schedule, per data from Flightradar24. The journey, during the busy Memorial Day travel period, appeared to be going smoothly until it was about to land. In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the flight crew reported a lightning strike. A Southwest spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that there was "a possible lightning strike" on the aircraft. "Our maintenance teams took the aircraft out of service for inspection. There were no injuries," the spokesperson added. The Aviation Herald reported that air traffic control could no longer hear the pilots after the strike. However, it added that controllers were able to transmit instructions to them, and the 737 landed safely in Denver 12 minutes later. Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist at told the outlet that the airport reported lightning in the hour before the flight landed. "This is a challenge flying into and out of Denver this time of year, as afternoon and evening thunderstorms can be almost a daily occurrence," he added. The National Weather Service says airliners are struck by lightning about once or twice a year on average. Jets avoid thunderstorms as much as possible because aircraft can trigger strikes because their presence enhances the electric fields found in storms. Commercial planes are designed with several parts to help mitigate the impact of lightning, such as a metal mesh that conducts electricity away from passengers and internal electronics. Last New Year's Eve, a United Airlines plane from Newark to London turned around and diverted to Boston after the crew reported a lightning strike.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
80 flights hit, runway shut thrice; ATC debuts low visibility take-off protocol
Mumbai: Roughly 80 flight arrivals and departures were likely affected by heavy rain at the city airport during morning peak hours on Monday. Visibility dropped below the minimum threshold during the period, forcing the runway to be shut for landings thrice for short durations. Sources said that there was no rain-related cancellation, and that two Air India flights to Mumbai were diverted—one from Ahmedabad was sent back and the other, from Goa, was sent to Indore. The morning disruption had a cascading effect on flight schedules and delays continued through the day. According to Flightradar24, arrivals and departures were delayed by an average of 45 minutes in the evening. To reduce such delays in departures during heavy rain, the city airport's air traffic control on Monday morning debuted a new procedure under which it permits take-off in low visibility conditions. The procedure was tested between 7.30am and 10.30am when dense cloud cover and rainfall led to low visibility. Despite the inclement weather, Mumbai airport handled 50 departures. However, since landings continue to follow the standard visibility norms, only 28 flights could land during those three hours of morning peak hour traffic. Called 'low visibility take off' (LVTO), the procedure reduces the minimum runway visibility required to take off from Mumbai airport from the standard 550m to 400m. This means departures can continue till visibility drops below 400m. The minimum visibility for landings at Mumbai continues to be 550m. "Early this year, the Mumbai air traffic control, along with the airport operator, formulated the procedures for LVTO, and Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted clearance. On Monday morning, we got an opportunity to implement it. Visibility fell below 550m thrice for 5-10 minutes each during the morning peak hours," said an aviation source. "Typically, flights coming in to land are given priority over flights waiting to take off. On rainy days, then, departure flights end up with longer delays than arrivals. With the implementation of LVTO, the duration of delays in departures can be cut down when visibility falls below 550m," the source said.
