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Naked passenger forces plane to land in OKC

News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A naked, unruly passenger forced an American Airlines flight to make an emergency landing Friday afternoon at Will Rogers World Airport.

The man was aboard Flight 725 en route from Boston to Los Angeles when he became distraught and began running down an aisle naked, police said.

The man tried to force open an exit door when the plane was at 30,000 feet, said Sgt. Gary Knight with Oklahoma City police.

FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said members of the New England Revolution professional soccer team, who were aboard flight, helped subdue the man. The plane landed safely at 1:30 p.m., Knight said.

The plane departed for Los Angeles about an hour later.

Members of the New England Revolution were among those who grabbed the man near an exit door, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said. Tie wraps were placed on the man, whose name was not immediately released, and he was taken off the flight in Oklahoma City and placed under mental evaluation, Johnson said.

The trouble began when a man on the flight emerged from a bathroom without his clothes on, Johnson said.

"He was asked to go back to the bathroom to put his clothes on and he did and went back to his seat and then allegedly attempted to open an aircraft emergency exit door," Johnson said.

The airplane had 151 passengers and seven crew members aboard.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.