Smoking Passengers Ground Plane
Flight From Pittsburgh To Los Angeles Diverted
UPDATED: 7:02 a.m. EDT July 20, 2001
A US Airways flight from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles was diverted to Phoenix after three passengers reportedly refused to stop smoking on the flight and became abusive toward flight attendants, authorities said.
US Airways Flight 49 was boarded by federal agents upon landing
in Phoenix on Thursday night, according to witneses.
"On Flight 49 from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles, there were three
passengers who attendants thought were disruptive enough to be
removed, so the plane was diverted to Phoenix," said US Airways
spokesman Rick Schoen.
"The report we got was that three subjects on the aircraft were
smoking, and the air crew asked them to stop, and they refused to
stop and became irate about it," said Phoenix airport aviation
supervisor Barney Helmick.
Helmick said he did not know whether the three passengers had
been taken into custody by federal authorities.
No injuries were reported.
Copyright 2001 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
