An American Airlines flight had to be diverted after an “unruly passenger” tried to get inside the cockpit and a flight attendant used a coffee pot to hit the man over the head.
American Airlines flight 1775, which took off from Los Angeles on Sunday and was bound for Washington DC, was diverted to Kansas City airport in Missouri, the airlines said in a statement.
According to witnesses, a passenger tried to forcefully enter the cockpit and open the plane door.
In an audio recording caught on live air traffic control communications, the pilot can be heard saying: “Yeah, he’s trying to get into the cockpit, American 1775.”
“We’ve got four passengers now trying to contain this gentleman,” the pilot added.
One witness, Mouaz Moustafa, a resident of Washington DC, tweeted that a flight attendant used a coffee pot to hit the man over the head and stop him from entering the cockpit.
“The FBI have boarded flight AA1775 and are going through the scene after a flight attendant used a coffee pot to strike a middle-aged man multiple times who was attempting to open the plane door,” Mr Moustafa tweeted.
The police and the FBI entered the flight after it landed to contain the situation.
“It felt like the plane was free falling and many feared the worst because people weren’t fully aware of what was unfolding,” Mr Moustafa added on Twitter. He also tweeted a video of the incident.
While the unruly passenger has not been identified, witnesses said he was a middle-aged man.
“The flight landed safely at MCI at 2.28 pm local time, and law enforcement was requested to meet the flight on arrival,” the airline said.
“We’re grateful to our crew members, who are consistently dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and who handled the circumstances with the utmost skill and professionalism.”
