A JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston had to be diverted to Orlando after a deranged passenger calling himself “the devil” allegedly punched a woman traveling with him, according to witnesses.
The violent incident occurred Thursday night aboard JetBlue Flight 170, which was disrupted and delayed more than five hours.
The airline confirmed to The Post on Friday that the flight was “diverted to Orlando due to a disturbance between two customers on board.”
One passenger, who has not been publicly identified, threatened, told those around him he was the devil and physically assaulted his fellow passenger, WCVB-TV reported, citing eyewitness accounts.
A man who was sitting near the crazed customer in the back of the plane told the station that flight attendants placed the woman in the bathroom for safety, and the man was banging on the door to try to get her out.
A screenshot of cellphone video taken on JetBlue Flight 170 shows an unruly passenger being escorted off the plane after a violent outburst. @LeoRuiz037 The flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston had to be diverted to Orlando on Thursday night due to the disruption. @leoruiz037
Traveler Max Seelig, who was sitting in the front of the plane, said one of the crew members told him and his neighbors that the plane was going to make a “pit stop” in Orlando, but that it was not going. to be announced “in case it angered the man,” he said.
Passenger Leo Ruiz recorded cellphone video showing the runaway flier, dressed in a hoodie and baseball cap, being escorted off the plane by officers after it landed in Orlando.
It was not until the man was safely removed that the pilot explained to the rest of the passengers what was happening, as seen in Ruiz’s recording.
The passenger allegedly hit a woman, seen in this screenshot, who was traveling with him. @leoruiz037
“We had a violent and disruptive passenger in the back,” the pilot said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t make an announcement to let you know. “We didn’t want to agitate him any more than he already was, he was attacking another passenger.”
A JetBlue spokesperson told The Post that two customers “were deplaned with the assistance of authorities and the flight continued to Boston with a delay.”
Passengers had to wait for hours in Orlando until the plane was refueled and a new crew arrived. REUTERS
Passengers said they all had to disembark in Orlando, wait for the plane to be refueled and a new crew to arrive, before boarding the plane again, which landed in Boston at 4:31 a.m. Friday.
Meanwhile, Orlando police said the unruly passenger has not been arrested.
“The individual was intoxicated and was taken to the local hospital for [Orlando Fire Department] for treatment,” a department spokesperson told The Post on Friday.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn