A passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight who allegedly boarded the plane with two box cutters was taken into custody after an emergency landing Friday night, according to the airline and the Transportation Security Administration.
Several passengers on the flight, including military veterans and a former law enforcement officer, helped crew members subdue the man after they landed, according to eyewitnesses.
The flight was en route to Tampa from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport when it was diverted to Atlanta "after a passenger on board the aircraft was observed in possession of a box cutter," Frontier said in a statement.
Bystander footage captures police escorting a passenger off a Frontier Airlines flight after it made an emergency landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Internationa
TSA said in a statement on Saturday that the plane was diverted around 9:30 p.m. "after a disturbance involving a disruptive passenger, in possession of a box cutter was declared." Following a search, a second box cutter was found in the unidentified passenger's carry-on, according to TSA.
Atlanta police assisted federal partners in detaining the suspect, Atlanta Police Department spokesperson Officer John Predmore said. Predmore directed further questions to the FBI, which is leading the investigation.
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