It was a real flightmare.
An American Airlines flight from New York to Chicago had to make an emergency landing Sunday after a “disruptive customer” reportedly caused a disturbance, at one point even threatening to “blow up the plane.”
“It was an awfully, awfully long day for all of us,” passenger Sona Jones told CBS News of the “spooky” situation.
AA flight 2819 had departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport and was an hour away from landing at Chicago O’Hare when flight attendants asked if there were any medical professionals on board, NBC Chicago reported.
Shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose.
“We hear this person in the back screaming, yelling, ‘No, no, no,’ and he can’t get off the plane, and he didn’t take his meds,” recalled fly-witness Gerry Sutofsky.
The irate flyer then became “aggressive,” reportedly threatening, “I’m going to blow up the plane” and “kill you all,” recounted Margaret Weinstock.
“He was ready to attack the flight attendants,” she said.

That’s when the pilots decided to divert to Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus, Michigan, touching down at around 11:08 a.m.
Upon landing, the aircraft was swarmed with medical personnel and law enforcement, who removed the problem customer from the flight.
They then conducted a search of the aircraft “out of an abundance of caution.”
“There was a guy who came on the plane with a machine gun, and we’re being told, ‘Put your head down and hands up,’” said passenger Esther Sutofsky.
Footage shows passengers complying with authorities’ commands, while another clips show the problem passenger’s luggage on the runway after he was escorted off.
The FBI also responded to the scene to “conduct law enforcement activities,” eventually concluding that there was no threat to the public.
Passengers were forced to deplane with a police escort, whereupon they waited at the terminal for a new flight to Chicago.
“I’m exhausted, and I’m upset,” said Esther Sutofsky. “We were just sitting there not knowing anything, hour after hour.”
The plane in question eventually landed in Chicago at 7 p.m. — eight hours behind schedule.
The Post reached out to American Airlines for comment.















