A JetBlue flight from New York to San Francisco was diverted on Sunday when an unruly, erratic passenger was seen "snorting a white substance" and making unwanted advances on at least one female passenger.
The aftermath of the incident was posted to social media while the flight was stopped in Minneapolis. There, the man was taken into custody by police officers and the FBI, KGO reported.
"I think everyone was very uncomfortable and he posed a flight risk and, again, kudos to the captain for keeping everyone safe and taking appropriate action," a witness who sat within feet of the passenger told the station.
The passenger’s behavior was described in great detail by an unidentified JetBlue employee who spoke to the plane’s remaining passengers after the man was removed from the flight.
He allegedly used abusive, threatening language to passengers and flight attendants, including reportedly yelling racial slurs at other passengers during the boarding process. While the plane was in the air, he made "multiple trips to the bathroom," was "observed…erratic behavior and snorting a white substance," and later "gestured stabbing motions toward the other passengers" as if he had a knife.
The alleged advances were described as "unwanted touching, possibly inadvertent, maybe intentional, unknown" by the JetBlue employee, reported to the the plane's captain by One Mile at a Time.
The man was asked to put on his mask several times, but refused.
"It was collectively decided that all four flight attendants felt uncomfortable with what was going on, there was a child up there, other passengers felt uncomfortable," he described. "This was the closest place to go, so we as a team made the decision to come here."
"The people that deserve the applause are the flight attendants," he added as the plane erupted in cheers.
A bag containing a white substance was found among the passenger’s items.
"He just wanted us to sing at some point, and he smelled very strongly, it was a very pungent smell, and he kept walking to the bathroom he wasn't wearing a mask," another witness said.
The flight from JFK to SFO was originally scheduled to land at 5:36 p.m. Sunday. It reportedly landed in San Francisco about two hours late.
KCBS Radio has reached out to the FAA and JetBlue for comment but has not yet heard back.
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