Plane Makes Emergency Landing for Allegedly Disruptive Passenger
Flight headed from Phoenix to JFK, diverted to Wichita.
— -- An American Airlines flight en route from Phoenix to New York made an emergency landing in Wichita, Kansas, Tuesday night, after a passenger on board allegedly became disruptive, according to an airline spokesman.
"A flight attendant mentioned there was a security concern and we’re going to take someone off the plane," passenger Troy Petrunoff said. "We were in the air for about an hour and a half when everything went down."
Among the passengers was at least one member of the rock band Augustines. A member tweeted:
The plane landed in Wichita, where it was met by local law enforcement, the company spokesman said.
Wichita Airport Police Lt. Lloyd Youel said his department was notified by air traffic control that there was a flight coming in with an allegedly disruptive passenger.
The unidentified passenger was interviewed by the FBI and booked at the Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita on related charges, Youel said.
The flight resumed after the incident, American Airlines said, landing in New York just before midnight.