American Airlines flight grounded after traveller enters cockpit, damages controls

On January 11, in what can be described as a bizarre incident, a traveller approached the cockpit of an American Airlines plane during boarding in Honduras, wrecked the plane’s controls, and attempted to leap out of an open window. The incident took place on Flight 488 from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to Miami, Florida, and the accused is now in jail, American Airlines confirmed on the same day,

According to The Hill, the Texas-based airlines, stated, “A customer entered the open flight deck and caused damage to the aircraft. Crew members intervened and the individual was ultimately apprehended by local law enforcement. We applaud our outstanding crew members for their professionalism in handling a difficult situation.”

The company supplied a replacement aircraft and rescheduled the flight for 9:30 p.m. local time. The aircraft was due to leave San Pedro Sula at 2:58 p.m. local time, but American Airlines said it was obliged to send another plane, which would leave nearly six and a half hours later. In the footage, posted on Twitter, a man can be seen dangling out of an American Airlines plane’s cockpit window.

The alarming increase in confrontations with inebriated & verbally aggressive passengers

Further, in a similar incident, an American Airlines passenger unlocked the emergency escape and stepped onto the wing of a plane that landed in Miami in September, before being arrested. As air travel returns from the COVID-induced doldrums, airline employees and government organisations in the United States have reported an alarming increase in confrontations with boisterous and abusive customers in the previous year. Last year, the US Federal Aviation Administration opened over 1,000 misbehaviour investigations, up from 183 in 2020 and 146 in 2019.

The federal airline mask mandate accounted for more than 70% of the FAA’s almost 6,000 overall reports of rowdy passengers in 2021, but flight attendants claim they’ve also encountered inebriated and verbally aggressive customers. Some incidents have made the news. In July, a Frontier Airlines passenger was taped to his seat after allegedly groping two flight attendants, in August, two passengers on a regional American Eagle flight reportedly got into a fistfight over a seat recliner, and in October, American Airlines diverted a plane after a passenger allegedly punched a flight attendant.

(With inputs from agencies)

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