Passenger Arrested After Disturbance On AA Flight To Hawaii
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HONOLULU (CBSDFW.COM/AP) —An American Airlines crew and off-duty Honolulu police officer subdued a Turkish man Friday on board a Honolulu-bound flight after he tried to break into the cockpit.
He has been identified as Anil Uskanil, 25.
Investigators said a flight attendant used a service cart to stop the suspect. Another passenger then grabbed the man and helped duct-tape him back at his seat.
Police also confirmed Uskanil was arrested prior to boarding the flight at LAX. They said the suspect entered a restricted door, admitted to drinking and was cited then released.
The incident prompted U.S. Pacific Command to scramble two F-22 Raptors from the Hawaii Air National Guard, which escorted the flight from Los Angeles into Honolulu International Airport about 11:35 a.m.
The man was on board AA Flight 31, which departed from Los Angeles International Airport at 8:34 a.m. local time. Sources said at LAX, the man apparently was cited after breaching a secure door. He was assessed and determined to be intoxicated, but was not detained.
Once the Airbus A321 was in the air, the man allegedly tried to break through the cockpit door, multiple sources said.
A passenger on board the plane posted a video on Instagram showing FBI agents on the flight.
"Crazy! Someone tried to break into the cockpit on my flight from LA to Honolulu," the Instagram user wrote. "We were greeted by the FBI. They are now taking us off the plane a few rows at a time for dog sniffing and interviews."
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it had been briefed on the incident.
"We continue to monitor all flights out of an abundance of caution," DHS said. "At this time, there are no other reports of disruptions to flights."
There were 181 passengers and six crew members on board.
"My biggest concern would be that this could be a dry run what we call in security community when individuals attempt to test security," said Dr. David Grantham, a security expert for the National Center for Policy Analysis. "If I was in charge of security that would be my first concern, is this man testing us to see how we react?"
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
