Passengers on Delta Airlines’ Flight 500 from Indianapolis to Paris made an unexpected visit to Detroit on Thursday after an “unruly passenger” caused the plane to divert.
The disturbance occurred just after 6 p.m. EDT, according to a federal criminal complaint. About 40 minutes after boarding the flight to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, authorities say Ian Robert James Morin began “yelling and acting erratically.”
According to the complaint, the flight crew tried to calm Morin but he continued to shout and refused to comply with their demands.
Morin then allegedly hit a flight attendant in the throat with an open hand. The complaint said he tried to strike the attendant a second time, then threw up on the aircraft.
Lisa Gass, a spokeswoman for Michigan’s Wayne County Airport Authority, confirmed the incident to USA TODAY via email, writing, “On Thursday evening, a Delta flight from Indianapolis to Paris was diverted to Detroit Metropolitan Airport due to a disruptive passenger.”
She added, “Security personnel on board were able to restrain the man until the aircraft landed. The man was taken into custody. The investigation was turned over to the FBI.”
Morin, who resides in the northern Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, appeared in Detroit federal court on Friday afternoon and was released on bond, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Detroit told The Indianapolis Star.
Following the diversion and Morin’s removal and arrest, Delta put the flight’s other passengers up in hotels for the night and resumed the eight-hour flight to Paris Friday morning, Delta told The Indianapolis Star. The flight was scheduled to land at Charles de Gaulle about 14 hours later than originally planned.
The airline apologized to the passengers for the delay and inconvenience.USAToday