Passenger arrested after Delta plane landed in New Orleans, accused of aggravated battery

A passenger was arrested on assault-related charges aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to New Orleans.

Nelson Montgomery, 39, was arrested on the tarmac after landing at Louis Armstrong International Airport around 4 p.m. Wednesday after having been restrained with the aid of other passengers.

He faces charges of aggravated battery, simple battery and disturbing the peace.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) said that after the plane landed and after cutting his own neck with an unspecified sharp object, Mr. Montgomery threatened to decapitate a flight attendant before cutting her superficially.

An unnamed witness on Delta Flight 2432, an Airbus A321 jet, told WVUE-TV that the object appeared to be broken glass.

Other passengers aboard the plane helped restrain Mr. Montgomery before sheriff’s deputies arrived to take him into custody, JPSO Capt. Jason Rivarde told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

According to the unnamed WVUE-TV witness, there were eight passengers involved in keeping Mr. Montgomery down.

Mr. Montgomery, who was purportedly bleeding heavily, has since received medical treatment for his wound.

Delta Air Lines has also confirmed the incident, calling it “a reported customer issue onboard.”

“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior on our aircraft and in our airports. Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our people and our customers,” a company spokesperson told WVUE-TV.

Other fliers credited plane personnel with keeping things calm.

“At first we thought maybe a heart attack or something that somebody had had. It’s surprising that nobody was raising a ruckus. It was weird in a good way,” fellow passenger Raquel Davis told the Times-Picayune.