A Southwest plane diverted from its route to Sacramento to Omaha Sunday when an unruly passenger attempted to open the back door and visit "the Lord," USA Today reported Monday.
Authorities said that the Southwest-bound plane was diverted from its Chicago-Sacramento route when a flight attendant noticed that a suspicious passenger tried to open the plane's door mid-air.
In a statement to KABC-TV of Los Angeles, Southwest confirmed that the captain of the Flight 722 decided to divert the jet to Omaha to "have an unruly passenger removed" prior to continuing to its route to Sacramento.
Prosecutors identified the unruly passenger of the diverted Southwest plane as Joshua Carl Lee Suggs, 23, and was charged Monday with a federal offense for interfering with the crew of the flight.
The Associated Press reports that Suggs is expected to appear on court Wednesday.
Two hours after the Southwest plane diverted to Omaha, the 134 passengers and 5 crew members of Flight 722 safely arrived in Sacramento.
"Some gentleman just decided that he wanted us to visit the Lord today and ... open up the back hatch while we were all already up in the air," Monique Lawler, one of the passengers of the diverted Southwest plane told KABC-TV.
Lawler added that the unruly passenger had been acting strangely after the take-off; he was allegedly soaking wet when he came out of the bathroom in the middle of the flight.
Several eyewitnesses said the man rushed to the back of the cabin at one point and tried to open the door, prompting a flight attendant to scream for help.
KCRA-TV of Sacramento reports at least three passengers tackled Suggs and restrained him until the Southwest plane successfully diverted and landed in Nebraska.
Authorities from Omaha's Airport Police Department reportedly handcuffed the man and escorted him off the jet.
"He was going to do bad things to the plane so it was pretty scary," Scott Porter, one of the three passengers who restrained the unruly man, told the press.
Other eyewitnesses claim the unruly passenger's pupils were dilated and his speech was incoherent.
Another passenger of the diverted Southwest jet, Natalie Lee, said many rattled because of the incident adding, "We had people nauseated, practically, crying."
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