Breeze Airways flight diverts after unruly passenger twice breaks free of restraints: Police
A Breeze Airways flight headed to Los Angeles diverted to an airport in Colorado after an unruly passenger waving a skateboard got into an altercation with flight attendants and other passengers and twice broke free of his restraints, according to the airline and local authorities.
Breeze Airways Flight 704, which took off from Norfolk, Virginia, at 9:17 a.m. Wednesday, landed in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Grand Junction Police Department said in a statement it responded to the airport there about 11:15 a.m. local time after receiving a report that an "intoxicated male passenger became agitated, yelling racist slurs at airline staff while waving a skateboard. Airline staff placed the man in restraints twice, but he was able to break free both times."
The airline, citing reports from crew who were on board the flight, said there was a physical altercation that resulted in minor injuries to one passengers and a flight attendant.
However, the police said no reports of assault or injuries to passengers or the flight crew were made to the law enforcement.
After the plane landed in Colorado, the passenger was taken into custody by Grand Junction police at the direction of the FBI and taken to the Mesa County Detention Facility.
Airlines have reported more than 1,000 incidents involving unruly passengers so far in 2025, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
