A Frontier Airlines flight bound for Chicago was diverted to Miami after a passenger allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit door, tried to access the cockpit, and later choked an off-duty flight attendant, according to law enforcement records and federal authorities.
The incident occurred on Sunday aboard Frontier Flight 3345, which departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, for Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Authorities said 51-year-old Juan Gabriel Reyes became disruptive about 45 minutes after takeoff. According to an arrest affidavit from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and a federal criminal complaint, Reyes repeatedly stated that he wanted to get off the aircraft and attempted to open an emergency exit door while the plane was in flight.
After crew members stopped him from opening the door, Reyes allegedly approached the cockpit and began “shoving his shoulder aggressively on the pilot’s door,” according to court documents.
A flight attendant escorted Reyes away from the cockpit area and allowed him to use a restroom before escorting him to his seat. Investigators said Reyes then attempted to urinate on the restroom floor. He was later moved to a different seat, where an off-duty flight attendant volunteered to sit in the same row.
According to the complaint, the off-duty flight attendant left briefly to use the restroom after relocating his belongings. Reyes allegedly tried to grab the man’s bag. When the flight attendant told him to stop and moved to another seat across the aisle, Reyes allegedly attacked him.
The federal complaint states that Reyes “got on top of the victim” and “grabbed the victim by the head and choked him.”
Passengers and crew members intervened and worked together to restrain Reyes using flex cuffs and seatbelt extenders. Authorities said he broke free from the restraints multiple times before being subdued again.
Among those who helped restrain him was Josh Longood, a Chicago resident and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor.
“He was just trying to push back and fight back and try to, like, get his arms free, but I pretty much had him completely restrained,” Longood said, according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News.
Longood told reporters he stepped in after witnessing the altercation.
“I knew that I could take care of it and handle it without him or anybody else getting injured,” he said. “I was already ready for something to happen, so I instantly, you know, restrained him, put him in his row, laid him down, tied him up with a seatbelt.”
In another interview with CBS, Longood described the struggle, saying, “I just grabbed him, restrained him as safely as possible, kind of just really put him in his row, and laid him down, kind of framed against him, controlled his hands and his feet.”
He later added, “It was like holding a kid down throwing a tantrum.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft landed safely at Miami International Airport at about 11:55 p.m. local time after the crew reported a passenger disturbance.
Reyes was taken into custody by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and later turned over to the FBI for questioning. He was subsequently booked into the Miami-Dade Correctional Center.
Federal prosecutors have charged Reyes with interference with flight crew members and attendants and assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction. Court records show he has been appointed a federal public defender and has not yet entered a plea.
If convicted, Reyes could face up to 20 years in prison on the interference charge and up to one year on the assault charge.
Frontier Airlines said the flight continued to Chicago several hours after landing in Miami.
The incident comes as the FAA reports it has received 687 unruly passenger complaints so far this year.
