American Airlines flight diverted to Denver after unruly passenger reportedly smokes weed on board
DENVER - An unruly passenger forced an American Airlines flight from Arizona to Minnesota to make an emergency landing on Friday after the suspect allegedly told people he was on cocaine before locking himself in the airplane bathroom and eventually lighting up marijuana in the cabin, according to a report.
Nearly an hour into the flight from Phoenix to Minneapolis, the pilot announced that there was "a security issue in the back," which required the flight to be diverted and land in Denver, Colorado.
TMZ reported that passengers heard rumblings about a man in the back telling others on the flight he was on cocaine. Soon after, the man reportedly ran to the bathroom in the back of the plane, locking himself in for 10 minutes as flight attendants tried to get him out.
As the plane was about to land, the man exited the lavatory and went back to his seat, where he was described as very jittery, according to TMZ.
Once the plane was safely on the runway, a video shows the man being confronted by the flight attendance staff, as well as police officers and EMT.
That's when he decided to light up what appeared to be a joint, as staff attempted to grab it, TMZ reported.
The pilot was heard asking the first 13 rows of passengers to exit the plane so they could remove the man in question, who reportedly punched one of the other passengers as they attempted to exit.
The unidentified man was eventually handcuffed by police, who placed him on a stretcher where he was heard screaming, "Take it off, it hurts. I'll f***ing kill you!" TMZ reported.
The plane departed for Minneapolis two hours later, according to the outlet.
A rep for American Airlines confirmed to Fox News on Saturday that Flight 2408 was diverted due to a "disruptive passenger" and that law enforcement me the aircraft before it re-departed. The spokesperson thanked the flight crew for taking care of the other passengers during the incident.