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Who is Christopher Williams? Hero Delta flight attendant stops man trying to storm cockpit

Christopher Williams stopped the perpetrator who flew into a rage on the June 4 flight and allegedly tried to break into the cockpit in mid-air while screaming 'Stop this plane!'

A Delta Airlines flight attendant is being hailed a hero after he stopped an unidentified man from attempting to break into the cockpit on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Nashville, on Friday, June 4. Although the authorities have not termed it so, a number of passengers onboard the LAX flight, who later posted cellphone footage of the incident on Twitter have called it an alleged "hijacking" attempt.

The perpetrator flew into a rage on the June 4 flight and allegedly tried to break into the cockpit, when the plane was mid-air, screaming "Stop this plane!". Flight attendant Christopher Williams and the passengers restrained him with zip ties, according to a number of videos that have been uploaded on social media. Delta Flight 386, where the incident happened, was diverted to Albuquerque, where it landed at around 2.20 pm. The man was arrested by airport police and nobody was injured in the incident, KOAT-TV reported. 

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Who is Christopher Williams?

Williams' identity was revealed by a woman named Jessica Robertson, who was on the flight and later posted a number of clips and photos from the incident. Robertson, who is a chief content officer for TOGETHXR, and was seated in the third row of the flight, took to social media to share her experience.

She called the situation “terrifying,” but said flight attendant Christopher Williams “acted quickly,” to get the situation under control. "Flight attendant Christopher Williams acted quickly. So did several passengers around me," Robertson wrote, and the video she took showed people dragging the man to the back of the plane and away from the cockpit.  

“He kept banging on the flight door,” the flight attendant who subdued the man said in one of the videos posted to social media. “That’s a no-no. The second he banged on the door, it was a wrap.”

One of the videos showed Williams wrestling with the man, whose face was not seen as he was hidden behind a row of seats and out of view of the camera. Another video showed Williams successfully putting his hands behind his back and tying them with zip-ties. One other showed the man repeatedly screaming "stop this plane" as Williams and two other men near the cockpit struggled to subdue him physically and hold him down on the floor.

Later on, a photo posted by Twitter user @NoKapRich after the encounter shows Williams sweating with his face buried in his folded hands. "@Delta this man needs an award.. just saved the plane. LA flight to Nashville.." the photo was captioned. 

Delta released a statement about the incident that said, in part: “Thanks to the crew and passengers of Delta Flight 386, LAX to Nashville (BNA), who assisted in detaining an unruly passenger as the flight diverted to Albuquerque (ABQ). The aircraft landed without incident and the passenger was removed by law enforcement.”

The FBI was said to be investigating the incident. Delta also added that the rest of the remainder of the passengers were expected to make it to Nashville about five hours late. At the time the FBI field office in Albuquerque tweeted that the agency responded to the airport in New Mexico and there was no threat to the public.