Amarillo police arrested a California man who airport officials say disrupted Southwest Airlines flight 3683 from Los Angeles to Kansas City, officials said.
Ali Reza Shahsauri, 29, was arrested on a charge of interference with a flight crew.
“It came in here because – I’m assuming – the crew determined it was the best place to get on the ground,” Amarillo Aviation Director Patrick Rhodes said.
Rhodes said an emergency call was placed about 3:30 p.m. to the flight tower at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport. The caller initially reported a male passenger was attempting to break into the cockpit, Rhodes said.
"Police officers have recently told me that that was not the case," Rhodes said. "He was being disruptive and unruly on the flight, but he was not specifically trying to break into the cockpit.”
The plane landed without incident at the Amarillo airport and was transported to Gate 7 of the new terminal, Rhodes said. Amarillo police took the man into custody and he was questioned by federal authorities before being transported to Randall County Jail, officials said.
No one was injured.
Passenger Doug Oerding said Shahsauri started screaming obsenities at other passengers during the flight.
Attendants attempted to calm Shahsauri and then he went to the bathroom at back of plane and started making a commotion, Oerding said.
“All of us guys were looking at him like are we going to have to do something,” Oerding said.
He said a flight attendant got Shahsauri to calm down. The flight landed and police officers came onto the plane and took him into custody, Oerding said.
More than a dozen detectives arrived at the airport to gather affidavits from the estimated 200 passengers on the flight, officials said.
Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Sarah Horowitz said information was still being gathered on the incident.
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