Disruptive passenger forces Phoenix flight to land early
Nov 4, 2015, 8:29 AM
PHOENIX — A passenger was arrested for making threats that forced an outbound Phoenix flight to land halfway through the trip.
A band on the American Airlines flight to New York, We Are Augustines, live-tweeted the commotion Tuesday night. None of the 121 passengers or six crew members were injured.
Whoa. Emergency landing in Witchita. Passenger threatening the plane that he wants to kill people. Bad scene.
— AUGUSTINES (@WeAreAugustines) November 4, 2015
The man was taken into custody after the plane landed in Wichita, Kansas, reported a Kansas TV station.
— AUGUSTINES (@WeAreAugustines) November 4, 2015
Wichita airport police Lt. Lloyd Youel said the FBI interviewed the passenger, identified as Jason Baroletti of New York, before he was booked into the Sedgwick County jail.
The TV station said Baroletti was arrested with a federal count of criminal threat.
Flight 622 eventually completed its journey, arriving at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport around midnight Eastern time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.