A man who said he had a bomb while aboard a flight bound for New Orleans has been arrested, authorities say.
The 34-year-old man started acting irrationally late in the evening during the flight and reportedly told crew members that he had a bomb, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. The man was not identified. The airplane, which departed from Newark, New Jersey, landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and the man was arrested without incident.
He was transported to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center and was booked with communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, the office said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it plans to investigate the incident, which occurred aboard a United Airlines flight.
United Airlines said in a statement that the airplane landed safely “following a disruptive incident involving a passenger onboard” and that law enforcement “met the aircraft upon arrival.”
The airplane was a Boeing 737 Max 9 carrying 46 passengers and six crewmembers.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office did not provide any additional information.
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Kelety reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed.
