FBI responds after Chicago-bound American Airlines flight diverted to Detroit, officials say
A flight from New York to Chicago was forced to land in Detroit on Sunday due to reported disturbance, officials said.
American Airlines Flight 2819 from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport to O’Hare International Airport was diverted Sunday morning to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan.
The airline said the flight was diverted to Detroit due to a disruptive passenger, as other passengers told ABC7 it had been a tiring day when they finally landed in Chicago Sunday evening.
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Wayne County Airport Authority Police responded to a reported disturbance on a diverted American Airlines flight. Authorities said the FBI was also at the scene.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed that FBI personnel in Michigan responded to DTW Airport to investigate.
Officials said there is no threat to the public at this time.
“American Airlines Flight 2819 was diverted to Detroit (DTW) due to customer disturbance. The aircraft landed safely at DTW, where law enforcement and medical personnel met the aircraft and the customer was escorted off the aircraft. We thank our customers for their patience and thank our crew for their professionalism,” American Airlines said in a statement.
Passengers finally picked up their bags Sunday evening at O’Hare, about nine hours after the American Airlines flight was supposed to land in Chicago. They said it had been an agonizing day of waiting for those on American Airlines Flight 2819 from New York’s JFK airport.
“About an hour after we got to Chicago we hear this person in the back yelling, ‘No no no’ and ‘I can’t get off the plane…something he hasn’t taken his medication for,'” passenger Gerry Sutofski said.
American Airlines diverted the flight safely to Detroit; Here local police, FBI and medical personnel quickly swarmed the plane.
“There was a guy who came on the plane with a machine gun and we were told to put your head down and your hands up and I was just thinking how well we were hijacked,” said passenger Esther Sutofski.
“It was kind of shocking,” passenger Nevada Fischer said. “Nobody expected this.”
The passengers got off the plane and law enforcement officers searched the plane very carefully, the airline said.
After waiting for hours in Detroit, the plane finally took off for Chicago and landed in O’Hare just after 7 p.m. Travelers say they are grateful to finally get home.
“Thank God there was nothing on the plane, but here we are after a very long day,” Sutofski said. he said.
American Airlines said there was no threat to the public because this was an isolated incident.
