Morrisville, North Carolina — WRAL News learned of the cancellation of American Airlines Flight 3444 Wednesday after a passenger forced the flight to divert to Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
According to an RDU official, Flight 3444, from Jacksonville, Florida, to Washington, D.C., was diverted to RDU due to a disabled passenger. The FAA put the airport into a ground stand around 3:40 p.m
American Airlines said 40 passengers were on board.
Traffic returned to normal at RDU sometime after 4 p.m
American Airlines agents work with the flight’s passengers to get to the capital
The plane reached Gate C9, where the passenger was detained by law enforcement.
According to the FBI, the Charlotte field office responded to the airport and said the FBI is currently conducting fact-gathering interviews. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the accident.
The FBI said they will discuss with the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina to determine the extent of the charges.
The FAA has suspended takeoffs and landings after 3:30 p.m
According to the FAA, a “ground stop” is an air traffic control procedure that slows or halts the flow of aircraft heading to a particular airport. In other words, a ground stop is the stopping of departing aircraft bound for a particular airport or geographical area.
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