A man was kicked off a flight at DFW Airport on Monday, November 1, for allegedly smoking in his seat, threatening flight attendants, and telling passengers and a pilot he had a gun. He is also facing a public intoxication charge.
The man, a 50-year-old from Florida, boarded Delta Flight 365 from Atlanta to Los Angeles on Monday. A police report states that a flight attendant observed nothing unusual about the man’s behavior when he boarded the flight. However, his demeanor changed shortly afterward.
Flight attendants say the man drank two small bottles of vodka on the flight. Authorities said that he refused to wear a mask, smoked in his seat, and threatened passengers, among other things.
He allegedly grabbed the arm of a flight attendant, claiming he should have been in first class because he was a Navy SEAL.
The flight attendants reported that they armed themselves with handcuffs, a fire extinguisher, and an oxygen tank to defend themselves in case the passenger became violent.
After several unruly incidents, flight attendants deemed it unsafe to allow the passenger man to remain onboard. The pilot decided to divert the flight to DFW airport so that authorities could remove him from the aircraft before continuing to their destination.
When the plane landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the airport police were brought in. According to the police, the man was immediately confrontational when they approached him. He threatened and used coarse language with police and passengers as he exited the plane.
Police say they made efforts to talk with the man in the terminal, but he continued to be argumentative and combative. Police then arrested him for public intoxication and took him to the DFW Airport jail.
Police say the man complained that his “clavicle was out,” and he was released for medical treatment.
The passenger has only been charged for public intoxication as of Thursday. According to police, no gun was found on him when he was apprehended at the airport.