Nick Oxford/Reuters
- An American Airlines passenger was arrested in New Orleans after refusing to wear a mask, police said.
- Witnesses told The New Orleans Advocate that the woman was heard screaming while being hauled away.
- The incident caused an hour-long delay on the 1768 flight to Dallas.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
An American Airlines passenger was detained on Friday after refusing to wear a mask or to exit a plane at a New Orleans airport, the New Orleans Advocate (Nola) reports.
American Airlines Flight 1768 was preparing to leave Louis Armstrong International Airport for Dallas but was delayed for up to an hour due to the mask incident, according to the report.
American Airlines spokesperson Derek Walls told the outlet that the plane had to return to the gate after the passenger refused multiple requests to wear a mask.
But after being removed, the passenger could be heard screaming for approximately 10 minutes as officials hauled her away on the passageway until the plane taxied again.
"I've never seen anything quite like it before," Patrick Maney, who also was on the plane, told NOLA.
He added: "Two heavily armed police came and told the lady to get off. She refused, and they then told her to get up. She was screaming and resisting as they hauled her up and put some kind of restraints on her hands behind her back."
American Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The passenger was arrested at around 10 a.m CST, Captain Jason Rivarde, a spokesperson for Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, told Nola.
According to the outlet, officials said the passenger was ticketed for four misdemeanors: disturbing the peace, remaining in a place after being forbidden, resisting arrest, and simple assault.
It follows a series of mask-related incidents on planes at a time when violence is spiking.
Most recently, a California family had to leave a Southwest Airlines flight after their toddler could not keep his face mask on, as Insider reported..
The family is vowing to never fly on the airline again after the airline crew treated them like criminals because of their maskless child.
In June, an American Airlines flight had to be canceled Monday after a group of high school students refused to wear masks. As a result of the incident, the flight had to be delayed overnight and passengers had to stay in airport hotels.