An international flight that departed from JFK International Airport was forced to return to Queens on Monday after a “crazy man” seemingly got upset over the meal he was served.
American Airlines Flight 198 was four hours into its journey to Italy when an irate traveler charged at flight attendants and tried barging into the plane’s cockpit around 11 p.m., witnesses told CBS News.
“Apparently, the whole thing started because of a meal choice they didn’t get,” passenger Krystie Tomlinson told the outlet. “I guess they asked for it ahead of time.”
Tomlinson said the angry culprit was flying with a baby and wanted an exit row, which he also didn’t get. The combination of factors seemingly figured into his outburst.
Fellow passenger Michael Scigliano said the person causing the ruckus was unrestrained in the rear of the plane as the flight turned around to cross the Atlantic again.
Scigliano claimed the situation “was a little bit scary considering we had a plane full of 300 people and there was no air marshal onboard, and we’ve got this crazy man in the back.”
The flight reportedly returned to JFK around 3 a.m. Tuesday. Frustrated passengers had to wait for the unruly man to be escorted off the plane by authorities, then departed again for the roughly eight-hour trip to Milan on an 11 a.m. flight.
The aggrieved traveler at the heart of the incident has not been identified. A police source told CBS News that man was released without criminal charges.
American Airlines confirmed Wednesday that there’d been a disruption on one of its flights.
“American Airlines flight 198 with service from New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP) returned to JFK due to a disruptive passenger,” the carrier said in a statement. “The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we thank our customers for their understanding.”
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