Passenger doing pull-ups forces outbound Phoenix flight to land early
Oct 3, 2018, 8:28 AM | Updated: 8:41 pm
(AP File Photo)
PHOENIX — An unruly passenger who boarded a Phoenix flight to Boston forced a plane to land halfway to its destination this week, according to reports.
A witness said the unidentified man, who boarded the airplane Monday with a woman and two dogs, had become disruptive, doing pull-ups and ignoring the flight attendant’s instructions to sit down.
American Airlines Flight 2763 left Sky Harbor International Airport around 3:30 p.m. Arizona time Monday, WBZ TV in Boston reported.
David Markoski, who was also on the flight, said the man began doing pull-ups on the overheard bin shelf after another flier asked if that was what he was going to do as he leaned against the storage compartment.
“He would not sit down,” Markoski told the TV station.
“The flight attendant probably asked him about three or four times to sit down and he refused to sit down and then he really got verbally abusive with her, starting calling her names.”
The plane was diverted to the airport in Kansas City, Missouri, where the couple was taken off the plane by authorities.
FBI agents met the two at the gate and questioned them but no arrests were made or charges filed.
The flight finally reached Boston’s Logan International around 1:09 a.m. Eastern time.