Owing to the disturbances caused by 50-year-old Juan Remberto Rivas inside the aircraft, flight 1775 was diverted to Kansas City
Representational image. Reuters
An American Airlines plane was forced to divert from its destination after an unruly passenger tried to barge into the cockpit and open an exit door. The Washington DC-bound flight was coming from Los Angeles.
The middle-aged man was later identified as 50-year-old Juan Remberto Rivas. Owing to the disturbances caused by him inside the aircraft, flight 1775 was diverted to Kansas City. The incident took place on 13 February, 2022.
A video clip of the incident was shared by another passenger Mouaz Moustafa on Twitter. In the clip, Rivas can be seen being subdued by law enforcement officials. “The man was bleeding as the police in this video are taking him off the flight after landing in Kansas,” Moustafa wrote in the caption. The video was captured by Moustafa after the flight was diverted to Kansas City.
Watch the video here:
As per Moustafa, a flight crew was forced to use a coffee pot to subdue the 50-year-old passenger after he began acting strangely.
Juan Remberto Rivas attempted to smash a champagne bottle on the counter by grabbing the neck of the bottle. He began kicking and shoving the service cart towards one of the flight attendants, as reported by CNN. The man also attempted to open the flight’s exit door.
After witnessing Rivas’s strange behaviour, some passengers came to help the crew members and eventually a flight attendant used a coffee pot to subdue him. A police officer was among the passengers who dragged the man away from the exit door.
According to CNN, the flight crew told investigators that the man was not served any alcohol throughout the journey. Reports also suggest that Rivas had been accused of assaulting and threatening a flight attendant.
Last year, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had logged 5,981 reports of unruly passengers.