JAKARTA - Flights from Tokyo to Houston on Saturday last week had to be diverted to Seattle, after a passenger tried to open two exit doors, according to the FBI and a Seattle Port spokesman.
All Nippon Airways 114 flights were on their way from Japan's Haneda Airport to George Bush's Intercontinental Airport in Houston, when it was diverted "because the passengers were out of order," the airline said.
The plane, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, was airborne for about 10 hours when it landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at around 4 am local time, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
"The Seattle Port Police were summoned for reports of a passenger trying to open the exit during the flight," spokesman Chris Guizlo told CNN.
"No injuries were reported among passengers and crew as a result of the incident," added Guizalo.
"Our report shows flights being diverted due to passenger disruption," a Federal Aviation Agency spokesman told CNN on Sunday.
Crew and passengers detained the person, who was taken to hospital for medical evaluation after landing, the FBI said in a statement.
Upon arrival, another passenger became disordered while on the runway in Seattle, according to All Nippon Airways. The man was frustrated by the flight diversion and punched the bathroom door, the FBI said.
The person was "expelled due to disordered behavior before the plane departed from the SEA to Houston," Guizlo said.
"It's unrelated and passengers unloaded without incident."
"No demands related to the incident have been filed," the FBI added.
The flight continued to Houston, landing just before 1 p.m. local time without incident, according to airlines and FlightAware.
In the United States, the FAA has a zero-tolerance policy for disordered passenger behavior, which soared to record highs in 2021, with nearly 6,000 reported incidents.
Reports have declined significantly since then, but by 2023 more than 2,000 incidents remain, according to FAA data.
In 2023, more than 400 law enforcement measures have begun and a fine of 7.5 million US dollars has been imposed on passengers who violate it.
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Meanwhile, an disordered passenger last November tried to forcibly open the flight doors from Milwaukee, injuring a flight attendant and encouraging other passengers to cover them with duct tape.
The man allegedly told a flight attendant he wanted and needed to " GET out of the plane now," according to a report from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Public Security Department.
Last year, a man was charged with without reason beating a passenger on board United Airlines after he repeatedly hit the man to bleeding.
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