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FBI: Rowdy woman forces plane to land in Detroit

Posted at 11:02 AM, Jan 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-09 11:02:32-05

DETROIT, Mich. (AP) — The FBI says a rowdy passenger on a flight from New York to Chicago was restrained with a belt, necktie and apron after demanding to get off the plane.

United Airlines Flight 3461, operated by Shuttle America, was diverted to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and landed about 8 p.m. Thursday. Twenty-two-year-old Breanna Farquharson of Mount Vernon, New York, was charged with assaulting a crew member.

Her court hearing was postponed Friday. A woman who answered the phone at a home where Farquharson is listed as living declined to comment.

In a court filing, the FBI says Farquharson scratched a flight attendant’s lip and pulled a necklace and employee badge off her after “frantically” requesting to get off the plane, 30 minutes into the flight.

The plane with 69 passengers and four crew members arrived in Chicago about an hour late.