PORTLAND (WBAP/KLIF News) – A woman had to be restrained on Southwest Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon to Sacramento on Saturday after she told a flight attendant she would “kill everybody” on the plane during a dispute.
Southwest Airlines said the issue started after the woman allegedly disabled a smoke detector and proceeded to smoke in the bathroom.
The argument escalated when a flight attendant confronted her about the smoke.
“I swear, if you land, I will kill everybody on this [expletive] plane! I will kill everybody on this [expletive] plane!” she said.
The disturbance was captured on video by a fellow passenger.
Southwest Airlines issued a statement about the incident.
“Our reports from Flight Attendants indicate a customer violated federal laws by both smoking onboard an aircraft and by tampering with a smoke detector in an aircraft restroom. Our Crew enforced the regulation and that was followed by the passenger outburst. The safety of our Crew and Passengers is our top priority and we take all threats seriously. The pilots declared an emergency to receive priority handling from air traffic controllers, and our crew handled the situation onboard until the plane landed and local authorities stepped in.”
The woman, later identified as 24-year-old Valerie Curbelo by KOVR TV, was escorted to the authorities immediately after the plane landed.
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