Southwest flight forced to land in Arkansas after an “unruly” passenger

Southwest Airlines’ flight from Houston, Texas to Columbus, Ohio was forced to land in Little Rock, Arkansas Saturday afternoon because of a passenger disturbance.

Southwest Flight 192 landed in Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport about 3:30 p.m. local, according to CBS News. This was after the crew declared an emergency due “to a passenger disturbance.”

CBS News was informed by an airline spokesperson that the incident occurred during “unruly behavior” from a passenger.

According to an airline spokesperson, the passenger was taken off the plane after landing in Little Rock. According to the FAA, officers from both the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and local law enforcement met the plane.

Further details about the incident have not been confirmed. We were not immediately able to confirm the identity of the suspect and what possible charges they may face.

According to the FAA, the plane had left William P. Hobby Airport and was heading for John Glenn Columbus International Airport.  

Disruptive passenger behavior aboard planes A significant problem These incidents have increased over the past few decades. 5981 incidents of this nature were reported to FAA in 2021. So far, 2,178 incidents involving unruly passengers have been reported to the FAA. This has prompted more than 760 investigations.