WATCH: Passengers Help Take Down Man On Flight Diverted To Oklahoma City
By Anna Gallegos
June 14, 2021
More details are being released about the Delta flight forced to land in Oklahoma City on Friday, June 11, because of an unruly passenger.
Authorities identified Stephon Jamar Duncan, 34, as the off-duty Delta employee who was removed from the plane after it was diverted.
Authorities at Will Rogers World Airport first received a call about a "threat level 4" on Delta Flight 1730 around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, KOCO reported. The flight from Atlanta was supposed to land in Los Angeles.
Aboard the flight, Duncan appeared paranoid and told other passengers weird things, like they were sitting next to a terrorist and that he stashed personal items around the plane.
Flight attendants told Duncan to stop bothering passengers and to remain in his seat.
Duncan then got on the plane's PA system and told passengers to expect turbulence and to put on their seat belts because the plane would be going under 10,000 feet, according to a police report.
Some passengers say they saw Duncan attempt to open the plane's main door, but Delta dispute this, CBS reported.
When flight attendants tried to get Duncan off the PA system, he allegedly shoved one person and attempted to choke another.
Video taken by a passenger near the front of the plane shows attendants trying to restrain a man and someone can be heard yelling for help.
***The following video contains profanity. ***
🚨#BREAKING: Someone tried hijack Flight from LAX to ATL
— R A W S 🚨 L E R T S (@rawsalerts) June 12, 2021
📌#LAX l #ATL
Terrifying moment a man is restrained by passengers & crew near cockpit. As he was trying to open the door to the outside. Delta Flight 1730 (LAX ATL) which made a emergency to Oklahoma City pic.twitter.com/TRcHoi356Y
A second passenger video shows a man being wrestled to the ground.
Disturbing video shows passengers aboard a Delta Airlines flight subduing an off-duty flight attendant who became unruly, and reportedly tried to open the aircraft’s door mid-air. The Atlanta-bound flight was diverted to Oklahoma City. https://t.co/ikpkR8VccZ pic.twitter.com/6nmgpX0Zwn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 14, 2021
Passengers and crew members were able to get Duncan under control until the plane landed in Oklahoma City. Local authorities took Duncan off the plane and to a hospital because he was complaining of chest pains.
He as taken to the Oklahoma County Jail once he was released from the hospital.
A crew member told police that Duncan handed them a note earlier in the flight that read "I am ATL based, alert Delta manager, terrorist on board. 95835/contact pilots." The note was turned over to law enforcement as evidence.