Crazy On A Plane: Ridiculous, Unruly Passengers Who Diverted Flights to Amarillo’s Airport

Recently, the news was full of reports of a flight that had to be diverted to Amarillo, Texas due to a passenger who forgot to bring along his good manners. Oddly enough, it's not the first time something like this has happened. There have been several instances of flights being diverted and emergency landings being made at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

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JetBlue Erratic Captain - 2012

If you've ever wondered why flights get diverted to Amarillo, you'll be glad to know there's an answer beyond us being some kind of high plains version of the Bermuda Triangle. According to reports, we're designated as an "emergency airport" for several airlines. You can thank our location and the size of our landing strips.

In March of 2012, a JetBlue flight was diverted to Amarillo after a captain started acting erratically during the flight. It all started when the captain left the cockpit during the flight.

According to reports, after he left the cockpit, the co-pilot locked the door. At that point, the pilot turned around and started banging on the cockpit door screaming that they had to get the plane down. Flight attendants and passengers worked to subdue the distraught captain, and once the plane landed in Amarillo, the captain was taken to a medical facility.

American Airlines Mysterious Unknown Emergency - 2019

In August 2019, an American Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing in Amarillo. The reason was for some type of mechanical issue.

The flight was going from Dallas to Seattle with 188 people. No specifics were given at the time of the specific kind of mechanical issue that caused the flight to land in Amarillo.

United Express Hydraulic Issues - 2023

Almost a year ago to the day, a United Express flight was diverted to Amarillo. It was heading from Houston to Wichita, and due to "hydraulic issues" the flight had to make a pit stop in Yellow City.

The plane landed safely, and the 40 passengers would eventually reach their destination.

American Airlines Violent And Unruly Passenger - 2024

Earlier this month, we saw reports of a flight being diverted to Amarillo because of a passenger with an insanely bad temper. His attitude was so bad, he was classified as a Level 2 threat. That means he got physically abusive, primarily towards a flight attendant.

His name is Keith, and he was on the flight from Dallas to Montana. Supposedly, he had a little rum and that's why things got so out of hand. I understand his wanting to have a drink. I would probably drink too if I was heading to Montana in the middle of winter. I would much rather take a trip to pretty much anywhere else.

Passenger Attacks Flight Attendant During Flight

That doesn't excuse what came next. According to reports, it all started when Keith decided it would be a good idea to kick the snot out of the seat in front of him. The passenger occupying that seat took exception to Keith practicing his field goal technique on their seat and alerted the flight attendant.

When the flight attendant asked Keith to stop, he responded by screaming expletives and then punching the attendant in the stomach. Then he got up, and hit the flight attendant three more times, according to the reports. Fortunately, Keith was able to be restrained by passengers and the flight attendant.

That's teamwork.

Unruly Violent Passenger Arrested, Not Before Kicking Officer In Groin

Keith would be met by law enforcement once the plane landed, and I suppose it hadn't dawned on him how much trouble he was in. Supposedly, he kept up the fight. Only this time it was with law enforcement. According to reports, he gave one of the officers a kick to the groin, and spit on the others.

He's charged with a laundry list of serious crimes and stands to spend a lot of time behind bars because of it.