Flight diverted because of unruly passenger

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- US Airways Flight 969 from Pittsburgh to Reagan Washington National Airport with 107 passengers aboard -- including a U.S. senator -- was diverted to Dulles International Airport Monday evening because of a disturbance involving a passenger, federal officials said.

"The plane landed safely at Dulles after a report of an unruly passenger" on the flight, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown.

US Airways spokesman Rick Weintraub told CNN air marshals responded to "a situation" on the plane, subdued the passenger and made the decision to divert the flight to Dulles -- standard post-September 11 procedure when there is a disturbance on flights to National.

The passenger, a 33-year-old man who said he was a federal employee, was turned over to the FBI at Dulles. The other passengers were bused to National. Both airports are in Virginia suburbs of Washington.

The FBI said the passenger had gotten up to go to a bathroom toward the front of the cabin. He said air marshals told him to sit down and when he refused, they tackled and subdued him, the FBI said.

Another new regulation, which passengers on flights to National are informed of before getting on the plane, is that nobody can get out of their seats for the final 30 minutes of the flight.

This rule also was implemented as a result of the four September 11 hijackings by terrorists who crashed jetliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a wooded area of Pennsylvania.

It was not clear whether criminal charges would be pressed against the man.

None of the passengers on the flight was injured. Among them was Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

According to an Internet tracking service, Flight 969 departed Pittsburgh at 4:38 p.m. EST, and was to arrive at Reagan Washington National at 5:19 p.m. Brown and Weintraub both indicated the plane was safely on the ground by 5:15 p.m., and the unruly individual was taken off the plane.