A flight from New York to Chicago was forced to land in Detroit on Sunday due to reports of unrest, officials said.
American Airlines Flight 2819 from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to O'Hare International Airport was diverted to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, on Sunday morning.
The airline said the flight was diverted to Detroit because of a disruptive passenger, and other passengers told ABC 7 they finally arrived in Chicago on Sunday night after an exhausting day.
ABC7 Chicago is now live 24/7. Click here to watch
Wayne County Airport Authority police responded to a disturbance on a diverted American Airlines flight. The FBI is also on scene, officials said.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed that Michigan FBI personnel have rushed to DTW Airport to investigate.
Officials say there is no current threat to the public.
American Airlines issued a statement saying, “Due to a disruptive passenger, American Airlines Flight 2819 was diverted to Detroit (DTW). The aircraft landed safely in Detroit, where law enforcement and medical personnel met the aircraft and the passengers disembarked. We thank the passengers for their patience and the crew for their professionalism.”
Passengers finally picked up their luggage at O'Hare Airport on Sunday night, about nine hours after the American Airlines flight was scheduled to land in Chicago. They said it was a traumatic day for passengers on American Airlines Flight 2819, which took off from New York's JFK Airport.
Passenger Gerry Sutofski said: “About an hour into the flight to Chicago we heard someone screaming in the backseat, yelling 'no no no' and 'I can't get off the plane… he didn't take his medication.'”
American Airlines safely rerouted the flight to Detroit, where local police, FBI and medical personnel quickly surrounded the plane.
Passenger Esther Sutofsky said: “There was a guy on the plane with a machine gun and we were told to put our heads down and put our hands up and I thought, great, we're being hijacked now.”
“It's kind of shocking,” said passenger Nevada Fisher. “No one expected this.”
The airline said the passengers disembarked and law enforcement completed an onboard search out of an abundance of caution.
After several hours of waiting in Detroit, the plane finally took off for Chicago, landing at O'Hare Airport just after 7 p.m. Passengers said they were grateful to finally be home.
“Thank God there was nothing on the plane, but we are finally here after a long day,” Sutovsky said.
American Airlines said this was an isolated incident and there was no threat to the public.