A drunken New York airline passenger became enraged because there wasn’t enough room for his carry-on luggage — and was hauled off his flight by police, officials said Wednesday.
The brouhaha broke out on Delta Flight 2646 in Tampa on Tuesday afternoon as passengers boarded for their trip to LaGuardia.
Man kicked off Delta flight to LGA after he yelled at another passenger, got belligerent with a flight attendant pic.twitter.com/G0EHiGQxBN
— Kellie Cowan (@KellieCowan) May 30, 2017
Bronx resident Robert Tuttle, 60, became irate when the overhead bin above his row was filled, according to authorities.
“Man kicked off Delta flight to LGA after he yelled at another passenger, got belligerent with a flight attendant,” Tampa Bay TV reporter Kellie Cowan tweeted.
“He was upset with another passenger for having her bag above his seat. He threw said bag then yelled at flight attendant.”
Cowan, of the local Fox affiliate, posted video showing uniformed Tampa International Airport cops ordering the passenger off the plane but Tuttle appeared to refuse. A cop grabbed him by the back of the neck.
“Nah nah nah, that is not necessary!” Tuttle said. “You don’t need to choke me! You don’t got to choke me! You don’t got to choke somebody!”
Tuttle eventually calmed down and uniformed officers went to handcuff him. The man then claimed to be in law enforcement.
“You ain’t got to do that (throw on handcuffs), I’m an officer,” Tuttle said.
Delta 2646 was supposed to go wheels up at 3:25 p.m. and land at LGA at 6:13. It finally departed at 5:33 p.m. on Tuesday and touched down in Queens at 8:27 p.m., according to flight records.
“Finally off. Officers applauded after this man is removed from flight from Tampa to New York,” Cowan tweeted.
Tuttle was booked on suspicion of disorderly intoxication, trespassing and resisting arrest, authorities said.
He was held overnight in Hillsborough County Jail and released without bail on Wednesday afternoon, sheriff’s records showed.
Robert TuttleHillsborough County (Fla.) Sheriff's Dept.Tuttle could not be immediately reached for comment.
An airline spokeswoman said the Delta crew professionally “navigated this challenging customer issue.”
“He (the passenger) was hostile and aggressive with the customers around him and our Delta team,” the rep said.
“After the passenger repeatedly refused requests to deplane, the crew requested law enforcement assistance to ensure the safety and comfort of our customers. Harassing our customers and crew members is not acceptable. We are sorry to our customers who had to endure this disruption.”
