LA-Bound Plane Forced To Land In Phoenix After Fight Over Racial Slurs

An American Airlines flight from Dallas was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Phoenix earlier this year because passengers were fighting.

The incident happened aboard a Los Angeles-bound plane on February 24. Two women were allegedly using racial slurs during the flight when a male passenger asked them to stop.

Kelly Pichardo, 31, allegedly spit on the man, who started recording. Leeza Rodriguez, 30, also hit the man's hand so that he would stop recording, AZ Family reported.

The two women are also accused of assaulting a flight attendant before the plane was diverted, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"Upon arrival, the flight was met by local law enforcement who removed and arrested two individuals for verbally and physically assaulting other customers and flight crew members. Their behavior was disturbing and unacceptable, and they have been placed on the internal refuse list pending further investigation," American Airlines said in a statement.

Both women were charged with with assault and interfering with a flight crew member.

This is just one of the numerous cases of airplane passengers behaving badly in recent months. The Federal Aviation Administration recorded nearly 100 cases of unruly airline passengers within the past week, where there have been 3,500 incidents since the start of 2021, The Hill reported.