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16 February, 2022

Unruly passenger “subdued” by coffee pot after trying to storm cockpit

Waist up photo of smiling stewardess holding teapot stock photo

A resourceful flight attendant has allegedly whacked an unruly passenger over the head with a coffee pot to prevent him from storming the cockpit on a recent American Airlines flight.

Another passenger, Mouaz Moustafa, filmed the aftermath of the incident and took to Twitter to describe what happened.

“Passengers held the individual and a flight attendant used a coffee pot to subdue him,” Moustafa said.

According to 7News, Moustafa said the flight attendant struck the middle age man multiple times in the head.

He said he saw one flight attendant yelling to another member of staff to turn the lights on as the flight began descending.

The unruly passenger was bleeding as the police escorted him off the plane once it had landed.

passengers held the individual and a flight attendant used a coffee pot to subdue him as the plane descended rapidly. the man was bleeding as the police in this video are taking him off the flight after landing in Kansas #AA1775 pic.twitter.com/HL2JnyYglw
— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022

American Airlines released a statement saying the flight from Los Angeles to Washington was diverted to Kansas City International Airport (MCI) in Missouri.

“The flight landed safely at MCI at 2.28pm local time, and law enforcement was requested to meet the flight on arrival,” it added.

“We’re grateful to our crew members, who are consistently dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and who handled the circumstances with the utmost skill and professionalism.”

The incident is under the jurisdiction of the FBI, according to MCI spokesperson Joe McBride.

In a statement to CNN, the FBI confirmed the incident and said the unruly passenger had been taken into custody.

Moustafa said that the “flight descended at 5,000 (feet per second).”

“It felt like the plane was free falling and many feared the worst because people weren’t fully aware of what was unfolding,” he said.

Police have boarded flight #AA1775 from #LA to #DC which made an emergency and rapid landing in Kansas. Flight descended at 5000 fps. It felt like the plane was free falling and many feared the worst because people weren’t fully aware of what was unfolding pic.twitter.com/qyDHSrdUqF
— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022

Passengers were being rescheduled on another flight after the plane landed.

There has been a sharp rise in the amount of unruly passenger incidents recorded in the US since the beginning of the global pandemic.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clocked 5,338 reports of disruptive passengers, with a majority (3,856) handed out to passengers who refused to comply with the country’s mask mandate.

In 2020, the FAA recorded 693 incidents, almost eight times less than last year. The year before, in 2019, it only recorded 183.

Featured image: iStock/YakobchukOlena

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7News american airlines CNN Coffee pot FBI Joe McBride Kansas City International Airport los angeles MCI Mouaz Moustafa twitter unruly passenger Washington