MIAMI — A former professional mixed martial arts fighter from Chicago helped subdue an unruly passenger who attempted to open a Frontier Airlines door in the middle of a flight on Sunday, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Miami.
According to officials with Frontier Airlines, Flight 3345 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was diverted to Miami International 45 minutes after it took off because of a disruptive passenger, WTVJ reported. The man was later identified as Juan Gabriel Reyes, 51, of Pahokee, Florida, according to the television station.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight landed safely in South Florida at approximately 11:55 p.m. ET, WBBM reported.
When the plane landed, Miami-Dade County sheriff’s deputies arrested Reyes. He is accused of choking an off-duty flight attendant, trying to open an emergency exit door on the plane, trying to break into the cockpit and attempting to urinate on the floor of the plane’s bathroom, according to the television station, citing a federal criminal complaint.
“Law enforcement boarded the aircraft in Miami and removed the passenger and the flight subsequently continued on to Chicago a few hours later,” Frontier Airlines said in a statement.
Josh Longood, a former MMA fighter from Chicago, said he helped subdue Reyes until the plane landed.
“I knew he was gonna do something crazy so I restrained him and then, like, put him against the window and kinda safely controlled him so he couldn’t hurt anybody,” Longood told CBS News.
Several passengers worked together with on-duty flight attendants to restrain Reyes with flex cuffs, CNN reported. Reyes was able to break out of them several times, according to the cable news outlet.
The FAA said that airlines have reported more than 640 unruly passenger incidents so far this year, WFLD reported.
The FAA can seek civil penalties of up to $43,658 per violation against passengers who assault, threaten, intimidate or interfere with flight crews, according to the television station.
According to the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation online site, Reyes was charged with battery. He remains in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami, with bail set at $20,000, online records show.
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