An American Airlines flight from Jacksonville, Fla. to Washington, DC, had to be diverted to Raleigh, North Carolina because of a passenger who appeared to be attempting to breach the cockpit.
American Eagle Flight 3444 was diverted “due to safety concerns related to a recalcitrant customer,” the airline said in a statement.
Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Wednesday evening that he had been informed of the “flight diversion due to a Level 4 onboard malfunction”. According to Federal Aviation Administration documents, a Level 4 failure represents an “attempted or actual flight deck breach.”
The FAA noted in a tweet that it was working to finalize a rule that “would require new aircraft to have a second barrier to the flight deck.”
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The passenger was removed from the flight by local law enforcement at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the airline said. According to the airport, the Embraer E170 landed around 3:40 p.m. ET. After the passenger was taken into custody, the plane was cleared to continue its flight to Washington, DC
The FBI’s Charlotte field office responded to the incident, the bureau said in a statement. “The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will be consulting with the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina to determine whether federal indictments will be filed,” the FBI said.
The FAA said it is also investigating the incident.
– Katie Krupnik and Jeff Pegues contributed to the coverage.
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