A passenger was taken into custody late Friday night after reportedly threatening to harm other passengers onboard a Frontier flight from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport headed to Tampa.
The flight was diverted to Atlanta after passengers notified the crew of the situation when the man went to the bathroom. The suspect’s identity has not been released.
“When he went to go to the bathroom the passenger in the window seat looked at me said, ‘Hey he has a knife and he told me he was threatening to stab people we need to say something to somebody,’” a woman on the flight told a local news station. “So I went up and talked to the flight attendants in the front of the airplane and let them know like this guy has a box knife and he’s been telling us he wants to stab people.”
Authorities reportedly found the box cutter on the passenger and reportedly found a second box cutter in his carry-on bag.
WLWT 5 reported that the passengers were taken off the plane and were given hotel rooms until a new flight could be booked.
“No injuries to passengers or crew have been reported,” Frontier Airlines said in a statement. “The aircraft landed safely in Atlanta and the passenger in question was taken into custody by Atlanta Law Enforcement.”
A spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) responded to the incident in a statement that said that federal law enforcement officials are now investigating the matter.
“TSA takes its role in transportation security very seriously,” the statement said. “The situation with the Frontier flight is under investigation with the US Attorney’s Office, as they are the lead federal agency in this matter. TSA has started an internal review of the incident by viewing CCTV, airport security checkpoint processes/operations and will continue to provide updates as they are available. TSA can confirm that blades are prohibited in the cabin, but allowed in checked luggage.”
This was the second major incident in the region over the last two days as two World War II-era planes collided Saturday over the skies of Texas.
The incident took place at the Wings Over Dallas World War II Airshow early Saturday afternoon in honor of Veterans Day.
“A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow at Dallas Executive Airport in Texas around 1:20 p.m. local time Saturday,” an FAA statement said. “At this time, it is unknown how many people were on both aircraft.”
Leah Block, a spokesperson for Commemorative Air Force, said in a statement, “Currently we do not have information on the status of the flight crews as emergency responders are working the accident”
Block told ABC News that she believes there were five crew members on board the B-17 when it crashed and one on board the P-63 when it crashed.