‘Wasted’ passenger dragged off flight after ‘hitting flight attendant’ and removing trousers
‘They just found an empty handle of Jack Daniels by his seat,’ says fellow traveller
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Your support makes all the difference.A drunk passenger had to be forcibly removed from an American Airlines flight after he allegedly started kicking the seats, hit a flight attendant and stripped off his trousers.
Video shows the young man being escorted off the plane by police while swearing at those around him. He also appears to spit his gum out at the person filming him.
The incident prompted flight 967 from Los Angeles to Chicago to be diverted to Albuquerque on 15 January.
Fellow passenger and ESPN reporter Crystina Poncher shared her experience on social media, writing in a now-deleted tweet: “We just had to land the plane in New Mexico to remove an unruly passenger.
”He was wasted, kicking the seats, hit a flight attendant. Took his pants off.
“They just found an empty handle of Jack Daniels by his seat.”
She added: “I hope the guy that caused all this drama spends at least tonight in jail.”
An American Airlines spokesperson said: “On January 15, American Airlines flight 967 from Los Angeles to Chicago diverted to Albuquerque due to a disruptive passenger.
”The flight landed safely at 2.56pm MT and taxied to the gate.
“Law enforcement met the aircraft, and the flight re-departed at 3.58pm MT.”
Some passengers, including Ms Poncher, missed connections due to the diversion.
She tweeted: “It’s been crazy. I now have to stay overnight in Chicago.”
It follows various incidents of drunk passengers disrupting flights last year.
A female passenger was arrested by police upon arrival at Southend airport in September after claims she drunkenly assaulted cabin crew on an easyJet flight and allegedly attempted to open the plane door.
Another passenger said the woman had fought with her husband, who was also removed from the aircraft by police, before storming down the aisle “screaming and swearing”.
The passenger alleged that the woman “punched one of the crew in the face”, kicked another into the emergency exit, and that travellers feared she would “bash the plane door down”.
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