‘Incredibly scary’: Pepper spray released in plane cabin forces American Airlines flight to land
Passengers suffered breathing difficulties and burning eyes
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An American Airlines flight was forced to land more than 800 miles from its destination after a passenger released pepper spray into the cabin.
On Sunday night, flight 1680 was travelling to New York City from Miami when it was forced to land in Jacksonville, Florida.
The incident occurred around 30 minutes into the flight, according to one Reddit user, who claimed to have been a passenger on the plane: “People in the back started coughing and couldn’t see”.
“No one knows what’s happening and a [flight attendant] gets on the mic to announce that if anyone knows what’s in the air they need to speak up. Ten minutes later the pilot makes a left to divert to JAX. When passengers see how quickly this has escalated the culprit comes clean and claims it was an accident,” they added.
Once the plane landed in Jacksonville, police officers removed the culprit and their family. After the aircraft was cleaned, it continued its journey to New York, arriving several hours late.
However, in a reply to the post, another Reddit user who claimed they were on the flight and close to the spray said they believe it was done “intentionally”, stating: “It was incredibly scary not being able to breathe, having burning skin/eyes, having everyone panicking around, and being stuck in a small space.”
The airline confirmed to ABC News that the unscheduled stop was due to “a disruptive incident involving a customer”.
The Independent has contacted American Airlines and Jacksonville Police Department for further information.
It’s unclear how the pepper spray ended up in the plane’s cabin. According to the US Transportation Security Administration, pepper spray is not allowed in carry-on bags.
Some airlines do allow a 118ml container of mace or pepper spray as long as it has a safety mechanism to prevent it being accidentally discharged. The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into the incident.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments