WASHINGTON — A plane that left Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport heading to LAX was diverted to Oklahoma City due to an unruly passenger aboard the flight, according to our CBS partners in Los Angeles.
Delta Flight 342 left Reagan National Airport around 5:20 p.m. when three hours into the trip, 35-year-old Ariel Pennington, became combative with the flight attendant. Reports said the man assaulted the flight attendant.
Our partners say during the incident, a U.S. Air Marshal on the plane jumped in the altercation to subdue the passenger and was also assaulted.
Eventually, the officer was able to get control of Pennington and subdued him.
The pilot diverted the flight to Oklahoma City, where police arrested Pennington and took him to jail. He was booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on complaints of disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, police said.
The Transportation Security Administration described the passenger as being "intoxicated" and disruptive in a statement Friday morning:
"During a flight from the Washington Reagan National Airport to the Los Angeles International Airport, an intoxicated passenger became disruptive causing a security concern, and the flight diverted to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. Federal Air Marshals assigned to the flight intervened to protect the safety and security of the flight crew and passengers. The Federal Air Marshal who intervened did not require medical attention."
"He was screaming," said passenger Ana Cobian. "But everyone remained calm and everyone understood that we couldn't create more of a scene."
The assaulted flight attendant and U.S. Air Marshal were evaluated when the plane landed and are expected to be OK, officials told our CBS partners.
The plane arrived in Los Angeles on Friday morning.
At Pennington's home in Northeast D.C., Friday, no one answered the door, but you could hear a dog barking inside. D.C. Superior Court records show he has a long arrest history that includes D.U.I., D.W.I, assault and a peace order. Now he faces possible federal charges.
It remains unclear what led up to the altercation. The FBI is investigating the incident.
Oklahoma City Police said Pennington had already posted a $334 bond on the public drunkenness and disturbing the peace charges. He was released from the detention center Friday.
Delta Air Lines released the following statement in regard to the incident:
"Delta applauds the quick action and professionalism of the crew and Federal Air Marshals on Delta flight 342 from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, which diverted to Oklahoma City after a customer became unruly and was removed from the flight by local law enforcement. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."
Last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed U.S. attorneys across the country to prioritize prosecutions of federal crimes that occur on commercial flights amid a historic spike in cases involving unruly passengers.
Federal law prohibits interfering with a flight crew, including assaulting, intimidating or threatening crew members.
The Federal Aviation Association said last month that it had referred 37 cases involving unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution since the number of disruptions on flights began to spike in January.
This past summer, TSA resumed flight crew self-defense training led by the Federal Air Marshals, which was paused due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Additionally, in September, TSA announced an increase in the range of civil penalties that may be imposed on individuals who violate the federal mask mandate. The new range of penalties is $500 to $1,000 for first offenders and $1,000 to $3,000 for second offenders. Individuals who violate the mandate also will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
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