Delta Flight Diverted After Passenger Assaults Flight Attendant, Air Marshal: Police

A Delta Air Lines flight made an unscheduled landing in Oklahoma Thursday night after a passenger allegedly assaulted a flight attendant and an air marshal who intervened, police said.

Delta flight 324 took off from Washington Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and was en route to Los Angeles International Airport when it was forced to land at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City after the crew reported the disturbance, NBC News reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration.

A passenger, later identified as 35-year-old Ariel Pennington, became combative and assaulted a flight attendant, Oklahoma City Police Captain Arthur Gregory said.

The passenger appeared to be intoxicated and became a "security concern," the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said in a statement obtained by Fox Business.

The air marshal assigned to the flight "intervened to protect the safety and security of the flight crew and passengers," the TSA said. The air marshal was able to detain the passenger by the time the plane landed in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City police officers escorted the suspect off the plane and detained him until the FBI arrived, KFOR reported. The FBI will file charges.

Pennington was booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on complaints of disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, police said. The detention center told Fox that Pennington was released on bond less than 24 hours later.

No information was provided on the conditions of the flight attendant and the air marshal who intervened. The plane resumed its flight to Los Angeles shortly after Pennington was removed from the Delta flight, Gregory said.

In a statement, Delta praised the "quick action and professionalism" of its crew and air marshals during the incident.

Since adopting a zero-tolerance policy in January, the FAA has received 5,553 unruly passenger reports.

Last month, the FAA referred 37 cases involving unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution. Federal law prohibits interfering with a flight crew, including assaulting, intimidating or threatening crew members.