American Airlines NC-to-LA flight diverted to New Mexico after passenger threatens crew
An American Airlines flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport was forced to land in New Mexico Monday night after a passenger threatened a crew member, the airline said Tuesday.
American Airlines flight No. 482 landed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 10:25 p.m. MST Monday, according to American spokeswoman Stacy Day.
The flight was forced to land after a “passenger disruption in which a threatening statement was made toward a crew member,” according to Day. She did not provide additional details about the nature of the threat.
The aircraft was met by local law enforcement after landing in Albuquerque and passengers got off the plane. The route was flown on an Airbus 321, which can typically seat 181 to 187 passengers.
The flight later took off for LAX, leaving Albuquerque at 11:49 p.m. MST and landing in Los Angeles at 12:26 a.m. PST, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
Police in Albuquerque did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the incident.
FAA investigates, fines unruly passengers
Unruly passenger incidents on airplanes dramatically spiked last year, with 1,099 investigations initiated by the Federal Aviation Administration, compared to 183 in 2020.
So far this year, the FAA has already initiated 73 investigations into unruly passenger incidents on airplanes.
FAA officials issued a record-breaking number of fines to unruly passengers last year, surpassing $1 million in fines in August. The FAA has not yet released the total amount in fines for the full year.
At least one passenger flying to Charlotte’s airport was fined for unruly behavior last year. A woman was fined $17,000 and removed from the flight to CLT in Key West, Florida, after drinking alcohol, refusing to wear a mask and trying to vape on board, according to the FAA.
Self-defense classes for airline crews
And flight attendants across the country, and at the Charlotte airport, are learning self-defense to protect themselves and other travelers from unruly passengers.
The Federal Air Marshal Services offer a self-defense class for aircraft crew members at an office near the Charlotte airport. The class includes self-defense strategies like eye-gouging, palm heel strikes and hammer fist strikes.
De-escalation is the main tool that flight attendants use to deal with unruly passengers, one flight attendant taking the class in August told the Observer. But she said all flight attendants should be prepared to deal with a situation that turns violent.
“Our entire job is preparing for the worst-case scenario,” she said.
Observer reporter Mark Price contributed to this report
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 9:47 AM.
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