Southwest Flight Diverted Because of Fight Over Reclined Seat

A Southwest Airlines jetliner bound for San Francisco returned to Los Angeles International Airport due to a disturbance involving two passengers, authorities said today.

One passenger from flight 2010 was detained on suspicion of assaulting a fellow passenger, but was not arrested, according to the FBI, which was investigating the incident.

According to witnesses, a woman claimed the man in the seat behind her tried to choke her because she reclined her seat. Neither the airline nor the FBI would confirm or deny that account.

Authorities were notified of the disturbance on board the aircraft about 10:45 p.m. Sunday, Airport Police Officer Rob Pedregon said. The original call mentioned a fight between two passengers, Pedregon said.

According to a statement from Southwest, the pilot returned to LAX “to allow police access to the cabin because of a rapidly escalating situation involving passengers who were not traveling together.”

“To receive priority handling from air traffic controllers, the captain declared an emergency, landed uneventfully, and reached a gate where law enforcement officers met the flight. Once at the gate, customers onboard the aircraft switched airplanes and, coupled with a previous air traffic control delay, the 136 San Francisco-bound customers arrived about five hours behind their scheduled arrival time.”

City News Service; Photo: Wikimedia Commons