A Delta Air Lines flight going to Beijing returned to the airport of Seattle soon after the take-off because one of the passengers tried to get into the cockpit, reported by CNN with reference to two people familiar with the incident.
According to the CNN, the plane Boeing 767-300ER turned over the western coast of Canada and returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport around 7:40 p.m. local time under a Department of Defense escort.
According to the Delta, after the successful landing, the passenger was detained and placed under the Law enforcement officers' custody.
On Thursday, the flight departed again to Beijing about 11 p.m. local time, according to the Atlanta-based carrier.
First class passenger attacked
According to the sources of the television channel, as a result of the incident, three people were injured, including one crew member. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokesman Perry Cooper told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer online edition that a first-class passenger attacked the flight attendant in about 45 minutes of flight, the passengers helped detain the attacker. Two passengers, including the flight attendant, were injured and hospitalized. According to Cooper, there was no information that the situation was a threat to further security.
One of the eyewitnesses named Dustin Jones told the KIRO-TV that there was a fight in the plane and the man with handcuffed was in the wheelchair and took to the terminal after the landing. He said the suspect started screaming for help.
Investigations and assistance by the FBI
In response to the incident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was involved in it.
It was noticed by the FBI Specialist Ayn Dietrich-Williams that the incident showed no information so that it could be considered as the national threat. But according to Dietrich-Williams, the Seattle Field Office of the FBI carried out the regular investigation at the airport and continued asking the questions related to the incident from the passengers of the flight.
In a statement, the FBI said, the Seattle Police Department's Port arrested the suspect who is a 23-year-old man from Florida. The first hearing of the suspect in the court will be held on Friday. According to the FBI, their investigation is ongoing, and all the details regarding the incident and the charges announced at the initial appearance of the case will be provided in the federal court.
