HOUSTON — A flight from Hobby Airport bound for Ohio had to make an emergency landing in Arkansas because of an 'unruly' passenger.
Southwest Airlines Flight 192 left Houston heading for Columbus, Ohio before it landed at the Clinton National Airport in Little Rock around 3:30 p.m. Saturday to remove the passenger.
Officials confirmed that a person had to be hospitalized after being assaulted. The passenger is in custody and is expected to face federal charges. The FBI is currently investigating.
Passengers disrupting flights with their behavior on planes is still a significant issue. In 2021, 5,981 such incidents were reported to the FAA. So far this year, the FAA has received 2,178 reports of unruly passenger behavior, prompting more than 760 investigations.
The Clinton National Airport released the following statement to our sister station KTHV in Little Rock:
"Regarding Southwest Airlines Flight 192 that was diverted to Little Rock (LIT) this afternoon. The aircraft, which originated in Houston (HOU), landed safely at 3:35 p.m. Passengers have since departed from Little Rock to their original destination of Columbus, Ohio (CMH). One passenger was taken to a local hospital for treatment."
Southwest Airlines also released this statement to KTHV after the incident:
"Flight 192 traveling from Houston to Columbus followed protocol and safely diverted to Little Rock after our Crew observed unruly behavior from a passenger mid-flight. Local authorities in Little Rock met the flight upon landing and removed the customer from the flight."