US Airways Plane diverted back to Charlotte due to unruly passenger
From WBTV:
The man with the gray hair was
escorted off the plane.
Janet Kim (Source: WKYT)
By Becky Gulden and Jeff Rivenbark
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A US Airways flight was forced to divert back to Charlotte due to an unruly passenger late Thursday night.
US Airways Flight 1402 was bound for Houston and departed from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport around 10:30 p.m.
US Airways Spokeswoman Michelle Mohr told WBTV the unruly passenger was a man in his seventies. He appeared confused and thought he was on the wrong flight about 20 minutes into the flight, she said.
Janet Kim, a reporter for CBS affiliate WKYT, was a passenger on the flight. On Friday, WBTV Producer Jason Holder interviewed Kim about the incident. (Click on the right in our Video Gallery to hear the complete interview.)
Kim said the elderly passenger became extremely adamant shortly after the plane took off. The man did not speak English and one passenger who was sitting in his row thought he was speaking Albanian, Kim said.
Kim said prior to boarding the plane and while all the passengers were waiting at the gate, the elderly man was observed screaming into his cell phone.
"He was already irate before ever getting onto the plane," Kim said.
When the man refused to comply with the flight crew's instructions, up to five people had to restrain the man. Meanwhile, the captain turned the aircraft around and headed back to Charlotte.
Kim said she thought the US Airways crew handled the situation in an excellent manner by keeping the passengers informed about what was going on via the overhead speakers. The flight attendants also went aisle by aisle providing updates to the passengers in an effort to calm them.
The plane returned back at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport around 11 p.m.
Airport police officials immediately boarded the plane and escorted the man off who is seen in the pictures on the right with gray hair.
The man was not charged in the incident, but he was taken to a hospital in Charlotte.
There were 125 passengers on board the flight, plus two pilots and three flight attendants.
Copyright 2010 WBTV. All rights reserved.
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