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A woman on an American Airlines flight to Los Angeles was detained and handcuffed after allegedly rushing passengers and yelling, “We’re all going to die!”
The airline said an “unruly customer” disrupted a flight from Miami on Tuesday morning, forcing the plane to divert to El Paso, where local police took the woman into custody.
Daniel Leon-Davis, a passenger on the flight, tweeted that the woman had allegedly stood in the front aisle screaming, “Repent! Redemption is coming,” after her warning of death.
Leon-Davis said she then tried to rush passengers before flight attendants could handcuff her and alert the police.
Video from the plane shows the moment when law enforcement and firefighters arrived to inspect the plane and have it take off.
Police and emergency services arrived at El Paso International Airport on Tuesday to arrest a woman who allegedly shouted “We’re all going to die” aboard the LA plane
Daniel Leon-Davis, a passenger on the flight, claimed the woman yelled at travelers to repent before trying to rush them. The flight crew was able to restrain her
In the video, a flight attendant could be heard speaking in Spanish to the passengers as she warned them that local police would come aboard the plane to take the woman away.
The El Paso police did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for additional information about the arrest.
American Airlines spokesman Derek Walls said the flight has already left the city of Texas and the flight is expected to land in LA in the afternoon.
Tuesday’s incident is just the latest in a series of unruly passenger behavior that has plagued the airline.
Shocking footage shows the moment an American Airlines passenger assaulted an unsuspecting flight attendant – sneaking after him and obliviously to the staffer aboard a flight from Mexico to Los Angeles
Last week, Alexander Tung Cuu Lee, 33, was arrested aboard a flight to LA after assaulting a flight attendant.
Shocking footage shows the moment when Lee attacked the unsuspecting employee – sneaking up behind him and punching him for being refused a cup of coffee.
The incident took place on Flight 377 from San Jose del Cabo to LAX on Wednesday after he attempted to move to a seat near the first-class cabin and saw the passenger removed from the plane after it landed.
Upon arrival at the airport, the suspect – Lee, of Westminster – was arrested on suspicion of meddling with a flight crew.
If found guilty of the misdemeanor, federal felony Lee — who allegedly threatened the male servant before the filmed attack — could face up to 20 years in prison.
An American Airlines spokesman said the man has since been permanently banned from flying with the airline.
“Violence against our team members will not be tolerated by American Airlines,” Walls said in a statement on the incident Thursday.
“The person involved in this incident will never be allowed to travel with us in the future and we will work closely with the police in their investigation.”
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), a union that represents more than 26,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, also publicly responded to the alleged attack.
Alexander Tung Cuu Lee (photo attacking employee) faces up to 20 years in prison
A separate video posted on social media shows airplane workers strapping the traveler to his seat after the eruption, while passengers look on in awe.
In a statement released Thursday, the organization labeled the incident “dangerous” and “life-threatening,” adding that it fits in with a pattern of similar attacks on airline personnel, potentially putting flight attendants at risk.
The union added that they will do everything necessary to ensure that the violator will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“This violent behavior endangers the safety of all passengers and crew and must stop,” said Julie Hendrick, the national president of the flight attendant association.
“APFA fully supports the affected crew members and will do everything possible to ensure that the passenger is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to figures from the Federal Aviation Administration, airlines have reported nearly 2,000 incidents involving unruly passengers this year, down from nearly 6,000 last year, even increasing the number of US air travelers by 38%.
Most incidents in 2021 and early 2022 involved passengers refusing to wear face masks, but the federal requirement for masks on airplanes and on public transportation was dropped by a federal judge in April.
While the FAA agency has not followed up on such reports in previous years, a spokesperson said it was safe to assume this year’s numbers are the highest on record.
Since the FAA announced a “zero tolerance policy” against unruly passengers in January, the FAA has disclosed potential fines — some in excess of $30,000 — against dozens of passengers and has investigated more than 400 cases.
According to figures from the FAA, that’s about three times the average number of full-year cases over the past ten years.