Passengers subdue man charging cockpit on flight from Chicago
SAN FRANCISCO — Police say a man who pounded on the cockpit door as an American Airlines flight approached San Francisco from Chicago has no clear or known ties to terrorism.
San Francisco police Sgt. Michael Rodriguez tells the San Francisco Chronicle that authorities have not yet established a motive for why 28-year-old Rageit Almurisi got up from his seat and went toward the cockpit door 10 minutes before the flight was supposed to land Sunday evening.
Police say he had a Yemeni passport and was yelling unintelligibly as he brushed past a flight attendant.
A retired Secret Service agent and a retired cop were two of several passengers aboard a San Francisco-bound flight from O’Hare who authorities say helped subdue a man as he charged towards the cockpit Sunday night.
Authorities say 28-year-old Rageit Almurisi stood up from his seat in the coach section aboard American Airlines Flight 1561 about 8:45 p.m., then walked forward. A nearby flight attendant assumed he was going to the lavatory, but Almurisi instead started beating on the cockpit door, San Francisco police Sgt. Michael Rodriguez said.
The flight attendant tried to pull Almurisi away but he resisted, Rodriguez said. With the help of another flight attendant, a uniformed pilot in first-class, as well as a retired Secret Service agent and a retired San Mateo, Calif., police officer, they were able to subdue Almurisi, Rodriguez said.
“This guy struggled pretty violently, apparently even putting his shoulder into the door,” Rodriguez said. He was placed in plastic cuffs and seated in the front of the plane until the Boeing 737, which carried 162 passengers, landed safely at 9:12 p.m.
Members of the San Francisco International Airport Bureau took Almurisi off the plane to San Mateo Hospital for abrasions to his elbow and chin. Once he was cleared, Almurisi was taken back to the San Francisco Police Dept, where he was met by federal agents, officials said.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said there was never a breach of security aboard the plane, which left Chicago at 7:05 p.m.. “As always, the door was fully secured and there was no breach of security,” Smith said. “He got nowhere.”
Smith called the American Airlines pilot who assisted, “the leader of the subduing,” saying the uniformed pilot acted quickly to help.
Smith said Almurisi was closely monitored until the plane landed and was uncooperative as he was taken from his seat to the jet bridge.
Almurisi, who was carrying a Yemen passport, as well as a California identification card, was charged with interfering with a flight crew, a felony offense, authorities said.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into why he charged the door. It was the third disturbance of the day in U.S. airspace.
During the afternoon, a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Chicago diverted in St. Louis after a 34-year-old man from Illinois tried to open a plane door during the flight, officials said.
Continental spokeswoman Julie King said Flight No. 546 landed around 1:30 p.m. and was grounded about an hour before resuming it journey.
FBI and airport police questioned the passenger. No charges have been filed.
Shortly before that, a Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to San Diego was landed instead in Albuquerque, N.M., because of a security scare but authorities found “no suspicious devices” on the plane, an FBI spokesman said.
Agency spokesman Frank Fisher declined to clarify the nature of the “potential security threat” that caused Flight 1706 to land in New Mexico. He said agents searched the plane and interviewed the crew and 107 passengers before clearing the aircraft to fly again.
Albuquerque International Sunport spokesman Daniel Jiron also declined to say what the potential threat was. No one was arrested.
The flight was diverted at 10 a.m. MDT, and Jiron said it was cleared to fly again around 12:30 p.m.