Yemeni man overpowered after in-flight tantrum

May 9, 2011, 21:06 GMT

San Francisco - A Yemeni man living in California was overpowered by crew and passengers after he yelled and pounded on the cockpit door on a flight from Chicago to San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

Police named the man as Rageh Almurisi, from the town of Vallejo just east of San Francisco. They said it was unclear what the man was shouting and that he had no known links to terror organizations. But passengers interviewed on a local radio show, who said they were Syrian, said the man was shouting Allahu Akhbar.

The incident occurred Sunday night just as the Boeing 737 was coming in to land after a four-hour flight.

According to witnesses Almurisi, 28, walked briskly from the bathroom at the back of the plane and started pounding with his fists on the cockpit door. He was quickly tackled and handcuffed by the flight crew who were assisted by two off-duty law enforcement officers among the passengers.

Almurisi suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident, but no one else was injured and flight safety was not compromised, authorities said.

'You knew he was going to do something. It was by far the scariest thing I've ever been through,' passenger Angelina Marty said.

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