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Tiffany Miles: Woman arrested for breaching American Airlines cockpit which led to emergency landing

The American Eagle Flight 3444 on its way to Washington, DC, from Jacksonville, Florida was diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport

MORRISVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: An "unruly" first-class passenger allegedly attempted to break into the cockpit of an American Airlines flight on Wednesday. She was furious over not receiving a drink, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in North Carolina.

The American Eagle Flight 3444 on its way to Washington, DC from Jacksonville, Florida was diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport at about 3:40 pm. Regarding the emergency landing, the airline said in a statement that it was “due to a security concern involving an unruly customer."

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Who is Tiffany Miles?

Tiffany Miles, 36, a Washington DC resident was reportedly arrested on a misdemeanor charge and was released on bond as per Raleigh Wake City-County Bureau of Identification. “Upon landing, the plane was directed to gate C9 where law enforcement boarded the aircraft and took the suspect into custody,” CNN reported.

In a radio transmission audio from Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Police obtained by the outlet, officers are heard saying, Tiffany Miles “tried to breach the cockpit." Federal Aviation Administration said that the passenger charged at the cockpit door. Spokesman Matt Lehner said the passenger “did not breach it,” but “did run at it.” Kara Rosario a passenger on American Eagle Flight 3444 Wednesday told abc11 that Miles was getting upset that they weren't serving her a drink.

She claimed that a different passenger stood up to assist the flight attendants in calming the woman down. “He heard the commotion and he went up to first class to assist and see if he could help at all,” Rosario told the outlet.

“He wasn’t a marshal at all or a police officer, just a citizen who was trying to help defuse the situation. You could feel that we were in it together and were willing to do what was needed but the gentleman behind me was the first to get up and take matters into his own hands,” she said.

'Safety is our main concern'

Retired American Airlines captain Tal Holloway, who has flown for more than 30 years, told the station first thing you want to be is "on the ground", find the nearest airport, and start emergency descent. "The first thing you're going to want to do is to make sure the aircraft is under control. Obviously, somebody has to fly the airplane and somebody else is going to have to work the situation," Holloway said. "They train all the crew members for this specifically. It's not a fun training to do but unfortunately, since 9/11 it's required training."

Rule on second barrier to the flight deck

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted that he was briefed on "Level 4 disruption on board." He said, "safety is our main concern and our top priority." The FAA said they were "working quickly" to issue the final rule of planes having a "second barrier to the flight deck".