This Flight Wasn't a Great Way to Kick Off the Weekend

Frontier Airlines plane makes emergency landing in Atlanta due to threatening man with box cutter: cops
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2022 8:30 AM CST
Box Cutter-Wielding Man Forces Flight to Divert: Cops
In this photograph taken Feb. 8, 2016, a Frontier Airlines plane is seen preparing to land in Denver.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A flight from Ohio to Florida made an unexpected stop in Atlanta Friday night after witnesses say a hostile passenger was spotted with a box cutter. WLWT reports the incident took place on Frontier Airlines Flight 1761 heading from Cincinnati to Tampa, with the plane landing in the Georgia capital at 9pm, about 90 minutes after takeoff. Tim Turner, a spokesman for the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, tells the New York Times that the suspect had been threatening to stab others on the flight. After the plane made an emergency landing in Atlanta, the suspect, who CNN notes hasn't been identified, was taken into custody by local police, per a Frontier spokeswoman.

Turner says that authorities did indeed find a box cutter on the man's person, per the Times, which adds it's not clear how the man was able to get the prohibited utility knife past security. The Transportation Security Administration hasn't yet replied to requests for comment. There were said to be no passenger or crew injuries from the incident, and passengers were offered overnight hotel accommodations in Atlanta. Travel arrangements were made for a new flight for them to Tampa on Saturday morning. (More Frontier Airlines stories.)

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