Watch CBS News

Man In Custody After Attempting To Enter Cockpit On Flight That Landed In Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS)-- A passenger, who tried to storm the cockpit, on board Japan Airlines flight 10 was taken into custody right after the plane landed at O'Hare.

Shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday as Japan Airlines Flight 10 approached O'Hare Airport, an air traffic controller made the urgent call.

"They've got a restrained passenger they've got to get off as quickly as possible," traffic control stated.

According to authorities, "restrained passenger" tried to storm the cockpit of the Boeing 777.

DePaul University's Joe Schwieterman called the incident "alarming."

"That's really the exact thing we saw 9/11," Schwieterman said. "Fortunately safeguards were on 9/11. Fortunately safeguards were in place. This was a very unusual and disturbing incident."

During the 11-hour flight from Tokyo to Chicago, the 26-year-old man was subdued by the crew and passengers, restrained with mechanical devices and then taken into custody at O'Hare.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 17 years ago, airlines have made it much more difficult to get into cockpits.

"After 9-11, changes were made to make sure doors were completely secure even with a lot of exerted force," Schwieterman said.

According to the International Air Transport Association, there are 38 million commercial flights a year worldwide. A DePaul University study, citing that group, says in 2016, there were 9,837 reports of what's called "disruptive behavior" by passengers on flights.

Schwieterman praised those who quelled a dangerous situation today.

"It looks like the airline handled this really well," he said. "They apprehended the figure, the police were there, fortunately the whole plane wasn't diverted to cause this inconvenience problem. But you had a passenger on the plane that clearly meant to do harm."

No charges have been filed. Police took the 26-year old-man to Resurrection Hospital for a mental health evaluation. Sources say he's a member of the military possibly suffering from PTSD.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.