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Smoker has 'meltdown' on flight
05/04/2007 07:25 - (SA)
San Francisco - A Honolulu-bound Delta Air Lines jet was diverted to San Francisco when a female passenger became unruly after smoking in the lavatory, said federal officials.
Delta flight 511 from Cincinnati, Ohio was over the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday when the passenger had "a complete meltdown freak-out," said a fellow passenger who called reporters from the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport.
The flight was turned around after a pilot tried to quell the disturbance, said Elizabeth Oglesby of Atlanta.
Oglesby said: "She appeared to be out of her mind. Upset. Belligerent.
"He threatened to handcuff her if she didn't calm down. At that point she hit him in the chest."
Delta spokesperson Chris Kelly said the pilot was not struck.
The woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance after the plane landed.
Officials with the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration did not release the name of the passenger and it was not clear if she would face criminal charges.
It is a federal crime to smoke on a commercial flight.
Kelly said the Boeing 767 landed safely and resumed its flight about an hour later.
- AP
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