The man reportedly began to yell, “I’m not a terrorist” and, “We’re going to die.”
Alaska Airlines Flight 769 from Boston to San Diego took a scary turn Tuesday after a male passenger who was reportedly intoxicated “became disruptive” after the flight attendants would not let him drink on the plane.
The pilot was forced to divert the flight at Denver midway through its route, Fox 5 in San Diego reported.
Passenger Clair Conroy told NBC News that the man “was upset the flight attendants would not let him drink the nips [small bottles of alcohol] he brought” on the flight and became abusive as he began to threaten the flight’s crew members.
“He was told to calm down by flight crew, and then became agitated and verbally abusive, even issuing a threat to flight crew,” airline spokeswoman Ann Zaninovich told NBC News.
Yelling, “I’m not a terrorist” and, “We’re going to die” the crew tried to calm him down, KMGH-TV reported. He also threatened the crew members and passengers on board, saying that he was going to ”cut their throats” with a box cutter.
Bridget Sullivan, a 17-year-old high school student from Wilmington, Massachusetts, told NBC the beverage cart was placed next to his seat to prevent the man from getting up.
The other passengers remained on the plane and after an approximately 45-minute delay the aircraft took off again for San Diego.
Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more.