A Frontier Airlines flight bound for Tampa changed course Friday night after an unruly passenger was discovered with a box cutter, according to officials.
After the suspect was taken into custody and searched, a second box cutter was found in their carry-on, according to the agency. Blades are prohibited in the cabin but allowed in checked bags.
Frontier flight 1761 took off from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport at around 7:20p.m on Friday and was en route to Tampa when the crew declared an emergency.
The plane was then “diverted to Atlanta after a passenger on board the aircraft was observed in possession of a box cutter,” according to a statement from the airline shared with NBC News.
“No injuries to passengers or crew have been reported,” said Frontier spokesperson Jennifer F. de la Cruz. A new flight was scheduled for Saturday morning to take passengers from Atlanta to Tampa.
The plane landed in Atlanta at around 8:45p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Frontier Airlines didn’t provide any additional information on the incident, but according to the Transportation Security Administration, there had been a disturbance involving the passenger in possession of the box cutter.
“The cockpit was secure and passengers were deplaned in ATL,” the TSA said in a statement. “FBI and Atlanta Police Department responded to the incident, took the suspect into custody and the flight was canceled.”
The agency is now looking into CCTV to assess what happened.
It’s not clear at this time what charges the suspect is facing.
The incident is now under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the FAA.
Kurt Chirbas and Jay Blackman contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
