Delta Air Lines Flight Diverts After Passenger Tries To Enter Cockpit

A passenger on a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 flying to Nashville, Tennessee from Los Angeles, California, tried to break into the cockpit yesterday. As a result, the flight was forced to divert to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the FBI was called to investigate.

The Delta Boeing 737-900 had to cut its journey short. Photo: Getty Images.

The 162 passengers and six crew members on board Flight DL386 were in for a fright when an unruly passenger approached the cabin with force. Videos shared on Twitter show passengers and flight attendants attempting to restrain the man. Additional footage shows the person tied up on a seat later on, unable to cause further issues.

The flight left Los Angeles International at 11:40 PDT and landed at Albuquerque International Sunport at 15:12 CDT. Photo: RadarBox.com

According to journalist Jessica Robertson, who happened to be on the aircraft, the man was heard shouting “stop the plane,” before flight attendant Christopher Williams swiftly took action to handle the situation. Altogether, according to the FBI, there was no threat to the public, and passengers were seated before the pilots made an emergency landing in Albuquerque to deplane the unruly traveler.

This was our view from the 3rd row right after the @Delta attendants and passengers apprehended the person who attempted to get into the cockpit. He was screaming “Stop the plane.” pic.twitter.com/8CG7zNFpTq

— Jessica Robertson (@jesscribe) June 4, 2021

A word from Delta

Delta is also thankful to the crew. The airline said the following, as reported by CBS.

“Thanks to the crew and passengers of Delta Flight 386, LAX to Nashville (BNA), who assisted in detaining an unruly passenger as the flight diverted to Albuquerque (ABQ). The aircraft landed without incident and the passenger was removed by law enforcement.”

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Another service from Albuquerque to Nashville took the passengers to their intended destination. Overall, those on board arrived in Tennessee approximately five hours behind schedule.

Domestic routes across the United States have recovered well following the industry downturn, but rowdy activity on board continues to be a problem. Photo: Getty Images.

Not taken lightly

Unruly passengers aren’t taken lightly by officials. At the end of last month, the FAA proposed nearly $65,000 in fines against five passengers for their behavior on airlines across the US. There have been several cases of travelers causing havoc in the cabin over the last few years, several also involving cockpits.

Flight attendants have to deal with numerous challenges in the current climate, and dealing with disorderly passengers is one of them. Photo: Delta Air Lines

It’s not always humans that are also trying to find their way into the flight deck. Earlier this year, a cat was found in the cockpit of a 737 in Isreal!

Nonetheless, it’s not a surprise why authorities are keen to crack down on incidents involving disrupting passengers. Thankfully, those on board managed to subdue this particular aggravator, but things could have got further out of hand.

Simple Flying reached out to Delta for additional comment on this incident. We will update the article with any further announcements from the airline.

What are your thoughts about this Delta Air Lines passenger’s attempt to get into the cockpit? What do you make of the way the attempt was handled? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comment section.

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