A flight from San Antonio bound for Los Angeles International Airport had to be diverted to Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday after a “disturbance” on board the airliner, according to LAX spokeswoman Katherine Alvardo.
Delta Airlines flight 5720 was en route to Los Angeles when a man on board the flight became uncooperative, according to passenger Ryan Healy.
“We’ve got a situation for sure. Guy won’t sit down. FA’s trying to intervene. Guy is uncooperative,” Healy tweeted during the flight.
As the plane, operated by Compass Airlines, diverted to Tucson International Airport, Healy took pictures of two fighter jets who arrived to escort the plane to the airport.
“Yeah, so we were just escorted down by two F-16s. Just landed in Tucson and we are most definitely not going to a gate,” he tweeted.
“We actually ended up on the other side of the airport, out in the middle of nowhere,” Healy told KTLA after the flight landed at LAX.
Video posted by Healy showed the passenger being taken off the plane.
Once the man had been taken into custody, Healy tweeted that everyone on the flight was searched again in the presence of armed officers before the plane was allowed to continue on to Los Angeles.
Healy said a flight attendant later told him the passenger had threatened the aircraft.
Video of removal. pic.twitter.com/Hb2cQq1B2j
— Ryan ⭐️⭐️ (@ryanhealy) June 23, 2016
And now we wait to be searched under armed guard. pic.twitter.com/JjtSLdpjkV
— Ryan ⭐️⭐️ (@ryanhealy) June 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/ryanhealy/status/745777397958533120
