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Passenger ‘in crisis’ was removed from an American Airlines flight after forcing his way onto the plane

A man was forcibly removed from an American Airlines flight at Miami International Airport Monday after he tried to force his way onto a plane.
American Airlines passenger removal

(CNN) — A man was forcibly removed from an American Airlines flight at Miami International Airport Monday after he tried to force his way onto a plane.

The man, a ticketed passenger on the flight to Newark, ran past the gate agent and onto the jet bridge, American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said. Once on the plane, the man repeatedly asked other passengers for the time, according to cellphone video a passenger provided to CNN affiliate WSVN-TV.

“Come on, guys! What time is it? We’re going to Newark, New Jersey, 6:50,” the man said in the video.

Passenger Ari Teman told CNN affiliate WFOR-TV the man was also shouting that “it was his plane and that he was the FBI.”

“Everyone started standing up to watch and they were blocking the aisle and then they called for security and he was dragged off the plane,” Teman told WFOR.

Feinstein said police were called to the plane and removed the man. The plane was then moved from the gate to a secure area for a search, which is standard procedure, police said.

Once in the terminal, video from Teman shows, the man was detained by officers.

Another video from Teman shows the man being led to an elevator in handcuffs.

The plane left the airport three and a half hours late, WFOR reported.

The man was described by police as being “in crisis,” Miami-Dade Police Department spokesman Chris Thomas said.

When a person is deemed to be in crisis and is determined to pose a threat to himself or herself or others, he or she can be forced to undergo an involuntary examination in a local crisis facility or hospital, without consent, according to the Florida Mental Health Act, known as the Baker Act.

The man was taken to Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital in Miami for evaluation, but was not put under arrest, Thomas said.

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