A California man was taken into custody Sunday following an incident aboard a Washington D.C.-bound American Airlines flight which was forced to make an emergency landing at Kansas City International Airport, FOX 8 News reports.
Following the flight’s departure from Los Angeles, Juan Remberto Rivas, 50, walked up to the cockpit area and swiped a napkin with plastic utensils from a counter. Rivas held the knife “like a shank” and pointed it in the direction of a flight attendant. He also grabbed a small champagne bottle by the neck and tried to break it over a counter.
Rivas then redirected his unruly behavior at the flight attendants by kicking and shoving a service cart into one of them. Things took a scary turn when he grabbed the handle of an exit door, positioned his foot on the door, and starting pulling the handle.
An unidentified flight attendant leaped into action, grabbing a coffee pot, and striking Rivas twice in the head. One passenger stepped in, punching Rivas in the jaw, and another passenger grabbed him by the neck and pulled him to the floor. An off-duty pilot came in to tie his hands and feet with zip ties and duct tape.
Rivas has been charged with assaulting and intimidating a flight attendant and thereby interfering in the performance of the flight attendant’s duties. His detention hearing has not yet been scheduled.
“We’re grateful to our crew members, who are consistently dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and who handled the circumstances with the utmost skill and professionalism,” American Airlines said in a statement.
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