--- description: Fighter jets escorted a Los Angeles-bound plane to Arizona after a passenger got into a confrontation with the flight crew title: Fighter Jets Escort Diverted Delta Airlines Plane to Arizona image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf71cdb1171cd0c83/69889918656a3f493dbcc05b/delta-plane-jet-escort.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Aviation](/tag/aviation/) ## Aviation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Fighter Jets Escort Diverted Delta Airlines Plane to Arizona by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2016 2:23 PM CUT  Delta Airlines passenger planes at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah. Delta Airlines passenger planes at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah.Robert Alexander—Getty Images by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2016 2:23 PM CUT [Fighter jets](http://time.com/4153181/fighter-jets-with-lasers/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined") escorted a Los Angeles-bound plane to Arizona after a passenger got into a confrontation with the flight crew. Passengers on the [Delta Airlines](http://time.com/9910/delta-frequent-flier/?iid=sr-link6 "undefined") plane, which left from San Antonio, said the trouble started earlier on the flight, [CBS Los Angeles reports](http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/06/22/plane-bound-for-lax-diverted-to-tucson-after-report-of-interference-with-flight-crew/ "undefined"). The jet had to land in Tucson, escorted by two [F-16 jets](http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1912203,00.html?iid=sr-link7 "undefined") from a nearby air force base. Passenger Ryan Healy captured a cellphone video as authorities removed a passenger causing trouble on the plane. The unidentified passenger was taken away while a man seated next to him informed the officer they were flying together. “He was just aimlessly walking,” Healy said of the unidentified passenger. He added that he eventually stopped near the cockpit door. Other passengers said that the man did not comply when he was asked several times to return to his seat and that he was slurring. In Tucson, passengers were re-screened and took off a short time later. The FBI has not released any additional information about the suspect. \[[CBS Los Angeles](http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/06/22/plane-bound-for-lax-diverted-to-tucson-after-report-of-interference-with-flight-crew/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4379635/delta-airlines-fighter-jets-arizona/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4379635/delta-airlines-fighter-jets-arizona/"},"headline":"Fighter Jets Escort Diverted Delta Airlines Plane to Arizona","datePublished":"2016-06-23T14:23:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:48:16.094Z","description":"A passenger was causing trouble on the plane","url":"https://time.com/4379635/delta-airlines-fighter-jets-arizona/","keywords":["Aviation","Travel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf71cdb1171cd0c83/69889918656a3f493dbcc05b/delta-plane-jet-escort.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rosalie Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rosalie-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf71cdb1171cd0c83/69889918656a3f493dbcc05b/delta-plane-jet-escort.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Utah Scenics","caption":"Delta Airlines passenger planes at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah.","creditText":"Robert Alexander—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/aviation/","name":"Aviation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4379635/delta-airlines-fighter-jets-arizona/","name":"Fighter Jets Escort Diverted Delta Airlines Plane to Arizona"}}]}] ```