A Southwest passenger forced a plane to land after reportedly smoking marijuana in the bathroom
- A Southwest Airlines passenger forced a flight to land after smoking in one of the plane's bathrooms, CBS Los Angeles reports.
- The passenger's marijuana cigarette set off the plane's fire alarm, passenger Jonathan Burkes told CBS Los Angeles.
- Southwest told Business Insider that the passenger was met by law enforcement and turned over to local authorities after the flight landed.
A Southwest Airlines passenger forced a flight to land after smoking in one of the plane's bathrooms, CBS Los Angeles reports.
Flight 1250 was traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles but diverted to San Jose Mineta International Airport after smoke was detected. The passenger's marijuana cigarette set off the plane's fire alarm, passenger Jonathan Burkes told CBS Los Angeles.
"It looked like that someone needed to smoke a joint on a plane, and he went into the bathroom, smoked his blunt, and set off the fire alarm," he said.
Southwest Airlines told Business Insider that the flight was diverted after a passenger allegedly smoked in the lavatory, though the airline did not disclose what substance was smoked. The airline said the passenger was met by law enforcement and turned over to local authorities after the flight landed.
Earlier this month, a Delta passenger who consumed edible marijuana before a flight in July was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of assault on an aircraft and one count of interfering with a flight-crew member. During the flight, the passenger reportedly tried to open an exit door and assaulted a flight attendant and another passenger.
Also in May, a flight attendant on one of United Airlines' regional carriers, Trans States Airlines, was reportedly "drunk or stoned" on a flight. A Twitter user wrote that the flight attendant was "drunk and disorderly" and "belligerent."