FBI Now Involved Following Incident on International Flight

The mask mandate on airplanes – the bane of many passengers’ existence before the ruling was struck down by a federal judge earlier this year – might have been the root cause of many unruly incidents aboard planes. But not this time.

According to several published reports, a male passenger on an international flight to the U.S. was restrained and then detained for trying to breach the flight deck.

The incident happened Friday night, November 18, on a LOT Airlines flight from Poland to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Police from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the unit that operates the three major airports serving the New York City area, were summoned to the gate following the incident. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was also called in.

Witnesses said the man suddenly started yelling and tried to storm the door to the flight deck, previously known as the cockpit. He was restrained by crew and fellow passengers and detained on the plane until it landed at JFK.

“A man started yelling and tried to storm the cockpit of our LOT Polish flight just after landing in JFK. Crew acted quickly to tackle him and announced a ‘seriously security incident; 15 mins later we are still taxiing,” tweeted JT Genter, a freelance travel writer, according to Fox News.

The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.

The issue appears to be an anomaly, as incidents on planes have dropped dramatically since the mask mandate was ended.