A Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas was diverted to Memphis on Tuesday due to what the airline is calling a “disruptive” passenger.
Cellphone video posted to Twitter by passenger Gretta Handley shows officers with Memphis Airport Police arriving to remove the passenger from the flight, after what appears to be a heated verbal confrontation.
“Delta flight 1603 from Atlanta to Las Vegas diverted to Memphis as a precautionary measure due to a disruptive passenger,” the airline said in a statement to media. “The flight landed without incident, the disruptive passenger was deplaned and the flight resumed to Las Vegas.”
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Since the FBI has jurisdiction over in-air incidents, Memphis Airport Police detained the passenger, whose name is not being released, until federal agents could take over.
A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed to WREG News in Memphis that agents had arrived on scene but would provide no other details.
In the video, a man with long, black hair and a beard can be seen standing in the aisle, arguing with a woman who is seated next to him as other passengers chime in.
Eventually uniformed police officers arrive, to the applause of many passengers in the cabin. Both the man and woman are escorted away by police, and it is not clear which of them was removed from the flight.
“Good, get them both off!” a woman can be heard saying as they two are led away.
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