An unruly passenger aboard a New York City-bound flight was taken into custody and questioned Saturday after the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport, authorities said.
Passengers were ordered to deplane on a taxiway as a result of "a potential security issue," American Airlines said in a statement. No injuries were reported.
The situation arose on the carrier's American Eagle flight 4817, operated by Republic Airways, from Indianapolis to New York. The Embraer 175 jet carried 76 passengers and four crew members, American said.
"The aircraft landed safely, and all customers deplaned without incident," American Airlines said.
The New York Police Department declined to comment.
In a video apparently shot from a passenger's perspective, firefighters could be seen with a man face-down on the tarmac, his arms spread out.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the plane landed safely at 3:03 p.m. The FAA did not describe it as an emergency landing.
Unruly passengers have become such a problem during the Covid-19 pandemic that the FAA has warned U.S. airports to monitor how much alcohol they serve to departing passengers.
In the summer, American Airlines extended its suspension of in-flight alcohol service until Jan. 18, 2022.
Domestic flights since 2020 have sometimes hosted people vocally opposed to masks, as well as on-board fights and alleged assaults.
The FAA has recorded an explosion in unruly passenger reports, from roughly 125 in a typical year to about 3,900 this year through August. Most of them, 2,867, involved allegations that passengers refused to comply with the federal mask mandate that applies to public transportation.
