3 days ago
Violent, unruly passenger on flight to L.A. restrained twice, arrested
A Breeze Airways flight headed for Los Angeles on Wednesday was forced to divert to Colorado after a reportedly intoxicated passenger began starting fights with flight attendants and other passengers, the company confirmed to KTLA.
The offending suspect, a man wearing a dark shirt and a baseball cap, later identified as L.A. resident David Leroy Carter, was yelling racial slurs and swinging a skateboard and a belt, according to witnesses on the flight.
'I stayed calm the entire time and when he threw a bunch of trash on the floor and used some racial slurs toward a flight attendant, it made me a bit upset and I told him to calm down,' passenger Jason Murchison explained.
Flight attendants were eventually able to subdue the man, but said he managed to break free of his restraints twice.
'She wanted to try to restrain him and was like, 'Can anybody help?' and the big guy was sitting right behind him, he was like, 'Oh, no problem,'' another passenger said.
Breeze Airways confirmed the incident in a statement to KTLA, saying in a statement:
'A passenger onboard initiated a physical altercation with other guests and flight attendants. One flight attendant and one guest were evaluated for minor injuries. The crew was forced to make an emergency landing in Grand Junction, Colorado, where police were waiting on the tarmac.'
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Grand Junction Airport Director of Operations Dylan Heberlein said police took the man into custody and the incident remains under investigation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, are also now involved in the investigation as reports of violent outbursts on flights have increased.
So far this year, the FAA has recorded 1,000 unruly passenger incidents and like Wednesday's ordeal, some of them have disrupted and delayed a plane full of passengers.
The rest of the L.A.-bound passengers ultimately made it back to LAX some six hours after their scheduled arrival.
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