Unruly Passenger Assaults Flight Attendant And Air Marshal; Flight Diverted To Oklahoma

A Los Angeles-bound Delta flight has been diverted to Oklahoma after an unruly passenger attacked a flight attendant and an air marshal.

Flight DL342 left Reagan Washington National Airport for Los Angeles at 5:16 p.m. Thursday. However, before it could even reach its destination, the flight had to be diverted to Oklahoma after a passenger caused a disturbance.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Arthur Gregory said a passenger in his 30s became "combative" and physically assaulted a flight attendant, according to CBS News.

"An air marshal on board intervened, at which point the passenger assaulted the air marshal," Gregory told NBC News. "The air marshal was basically able to get them in custody."

After the passenger was handcuffed, the pilots diverted the plane to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. The plane landed in Oklahoma around 7:30 p.m. without any further incident and resumed its flight to Los Angeles after spending one hour on the ground.

As for the unruly passenger, he was escorted off the plane after landing and turned over to the Oklahoma police's custody, Gregory added. The man is being held in an Oklahoma City Jail.

The flight attendant and the air marshal did not sustain any serious injuries. What motivated the assault remains unclear.

In a statement confirming the incident, the airline noted, "Delta applauds the quick action and professionalism of the crew and Federal Air Marshals on Delta flight 324 from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, which diverted to Oklahoma City after a customer became unruly and was removed from the flight by local law enforcement."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will look into the incident. Gregory also told Axios that the FBI could get involved in the investigation.

In January, the FAA started implementing a "Zero Tolerance" policy following the increase of violent assaults and incidents of unruly passenger behavior on flights since last year. The new FAA policy enables the agency to charge individuals with a penalty of up to $37,000 per violation.

This year, the FAA has so far registered 5,553 cases involving unruly passengers.

"One incident can result in multiple violations," the FAA said in a statement.