Delta flight from Paris to Detroit is forced to make an emergency landing at a remote Canadian airport used on 9/11 after ‘violent’ passenger, 34, broke free from his restraints
- The 34-year-old traveler was allegedly being ‘violent’ on the flight and ‘wouldn’t calm down’ on the trip from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France
- He was restrained by airline staff but managed to break free before five to six passengers jumped in to restrain him again
- The flight landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland and the man was arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police
A Delta flight heading to Detroit, Michigan was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote Canadian island after an unruly passenger broke free of his restraints.
The 34-year-old traveler was allegedly being ‘violent’ on the flight and ‘wouldn’t calm down’ on the trip from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France.
He was restrained by airline staff but managed to break free before five to six passengers jumped in to restrain him again.
The captain took an emergency diversion six hours into the flight and landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland at around 3.35pm.
The man was then arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and footage of the interaction was shared online.
A Delta flight heading to Detroit, Michigan was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote Canadian island after an unruly passenger broke free of his restraints
The 34-year-old traveler was allegedly being ‘violent’ on the flight and ‘wouldn’t calm down’ on the trip from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France
A clip of the incident shows him being marched down the aisle and off the Airbus A330-300 plane which had 261 passengers onboard.
‘What am I under arrest for?’, he is heard asking in the video.
Dena Haddad, a passenger on the Delta 97 flight, claimed the man had been ‘violent’ during the journey and ‘wouldn’t calm down’.
‘We wanted to get here as soon as possible. It was scary for a little bit,’ she told local television station WXYZ Detroit.
Another passenger said: ‘When we arrived to Canada and saw the police cars, we felt secured and fine.’
And a third added: ‘He was ready to throw hands. The whole back of the plane was interacting with him.’
The flight then took off for Detroit 90 minutes after the man was removed from the plane.
He was restrained by airline staff but managed to break free before five to six passengers jumped in to restrain him again
The flight landed at Stephenville Dymond Airport on the Canadian island of Newfoundland and the man was arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police
A spokesman for Delta said: ‘Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior, especially when it potentially compromises the safety of our customers and flight crew.
‘This unruly customer was removed at Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, and remanded to the custody of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.’
Stephenville Dymond Airport in Newfoundland has been in the headline before, as on Sept. 11 several planes made unscheduled landings after North American airspace was closed. The town hosted about 3,000 passengers for a week after the attacks.
Unruly passengers can risk the safety of others on board a flight so unscheduled landings are not uncommon.
A United flight was forced to turn back three hours into its journey in April after a ‘disruptive’ passenger sat in an attendant’s seat and began screaming at the crew.
In February an American Airlines flight made an emergency landing after a passenger who was denied a drink charged towards the cockpit.
And a ‘drunk’ and ‘aggressive’ woman, onboard a flight heading to Las Vegas, was ordered off the plane last month over disorderly behavior and screamed at other passengers.
