Passenger breaks into American Airlines cockpit at Honduras airport

An American Airlines Airbus A321-200 plane takes off from Los Angeles International airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 28, 2018. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

A passenger broke into the cockpit of an American Airlines jet at an airport in Honduras and damaged the plane as it was boarding for a flight to Miami before being taken into custody, the airline said on Tuesday.

Crew members intervened and the man, who was not immediately identified, was arrested by local authorities, American Airlines said in a statement. There were no reports of injury.

ABC News reported that the suspect ran down the jetway and into the cockpit, damaging flight controls and attempting to jump out an open window as a pilots tried to stop him.

“We applaud our outstanding crew members for their professionalism in handling a difficult situation,” American said in its statement.

The damaged aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 carrying 121 passengers and six crew members, was grounded at Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the airline said.

A replacement plane was on its way to Honduras and scheduled to depart at 9:30 p.m. local time.

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