BREAKING! Hijacked Delta Flight Just Made Emergency Landing In Seattle – Here’s What’s Happening On Tarmac Now
Delta and the Seattle Airport are still shaking from an incident that took place on a Delta flight headed to Beijing China just hours ago. The passengers and crew started their flight as normal, according to reports, but things quickly went bad.
Somewhere over Canada, one of the passengers decided he’s like to intervene and take control of an already tense situation. This, of course, didn’t sit well with the flight crew or the other passengers. It’s not yet known what his intentions were, but we do know he didn’t get very far.
Three people were injured, plus the perpetrator himself, however, the unruly passenger with crazy ideas was eventually restrained, and the flight returned to the Seattle airport where the FBI got involved.
More from CNN:
“A Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Beijing turned back after takeoff Thursday night following a “security incident” in the first-class cabin.
Initial information indicated an unruly passenger attempted to enter the jet’s cockpit, according to two people briefed on the incident.
The plane turned back after a passenger attacked a flight attendant in the first-class cabin of the twin-aisle aircraft, said Perry Cooper, spokesman for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Passengers stepped in to subdue the alleged attacker, Cooper said.
Three people were injured aboard Delta Flight 129, including one passenger and one flight attendant, according to Cooper. The unruly passenger was also injured, but he declined medical care.
The flight turned back as it was flying over the western coast of Canada.
The Boeing 767 returned safely to Sea-Tac Airport around 7:40 p.m. local time, according to the two people briefed on the incident.
Those sources initially said the plane returned to the airport under a Department of Defense escort. But representatives from Delta and the North American Aerospace Defense Command said no such escort happened.
‘They (the airline) were able to handle it at their level, so we didn’t go,’ NORAD spokesman Maj. Andrew Scott said.
In a statement to CNN, Delta said a passenger was restrained and removed from the flight because of a ‘security incident.’
Law enforcement officers took the passenger into custody after the flight returned to the gate, Delta said. The flight then departed again for Beijing shortly after midnight local time on Friday.
The FBI was involved in the response to the incident. But ‘there is no information to suggest this is a national security threat,’ said FBI public affairs specialist Ayn Dietrich-Williams.
The FBI Seattle field office maintains a regular presence at the airport, and is assisting and interviewing passengers from the flight, according to Dietrich-Williams.
The suspect, a 23-year-old man from Florida, was arrested by the Port of Seattle Police Department, the FBI said, with an initial appearance in federal court set for Friday.
‘The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and more details about the incident will be provided and the charges announced at the subject’s initial appearance in federal court,’ the FBI said.”
While the reaction may seem like it’s out of proportion if there’s no actual danger of a terror attack. There are a few issues with that though; when someone tries to enter a cockpit, it’s not really the time to be having a detailed chat about their intentions. Also, not completely sure they’d be honest about what they planned to do. When someone is trying to compromise the pilot of a plane, it’s really a “punch first and ask questions later” kind of situation.
Secondly, if I were to tell you that I took a metal casing and put explosive fuel, plenty of accelerant and fuel for the explosion, made it weight a few hundred tons and sent it hurling through the sky, you’d probably think I was talking about a bomb. Obviously, I’m talking about a jet, but the components and the fact that it’s got in flight navigation makes it have everything someone would need to make an extremely deadly weapon. Especially if you’re willing to sit on the plane and go down with it (which, as we know with many terrorists is totally inside the realm of possibility).
We put our faith in planes because in general, they’re a safer means of transportation than cars or basically anything else we ride regularly, but let’s not forget how dangerous they can really be. Especially in the hands of someone with bad intentions.