by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:12 AM ET, Thu October 28, 2021
An American Airlines flight was forced to divert to Denver after one of the passengers on board reportedly assaulted a crew member.
According to The Associated Press, American Flight 976 was flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, when the incident occurred.
A passenger on the flight named Mackenzie Rose said a man punched a female flight attendant twice around halfway through the trip. As a result, the pilot called for the plane to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport.
"I understand that he actually punched her twice," Rose told The AP. "I did see her walk back down the aisle afterwards. She had blood splattered on the outside of her mask."
Once the aircraft landed in Denver, it taxied safely to the gate and the unruly passenger was removed. The flight attendant was reportedly taken to a hospital, but her condition was not revealed by authorities.
Local law enforcement and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced they have launched their own investigations into the attack.
"We are outraged by the reports of what took place on board," an American spokesperson said in a statement. "Acts of violence against our team members are not tolerated by American Airlines."
The airline said the passenger would be banned for life from flying with the carrier and a spokesperson said, "we will not be satisfied until he has been prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This behavior must stop."
Earlier this month, the FAA revealed there were 128 new naughty passenger incidents reported by flight crews in the past week, which is the highest number since the FAA started releasing weekly data back on July 20. The figure brings the total for 2021 to 4,626 incidents.
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