From Fox News: Mario Nikprelaj, 23, from Nebraska, was taken into custody Thursday at Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids following the “in-air disturbance,” the Cedar Rapids Police Department said.
“Got diverted to Cedar Rapids because this guy decided to try and open the exit row door then fight the flight crew and other passengers,” a traveler who purportedly was on the plane wrote on X, sharing a video showing law enforcement removing a man from the aircraft.
The pilot of Delta Air Lines 3612 – which was being operated as SkyWest Flight 3612 — was also heard saying on air traffic control audio that a passenger onboard was “in a fight with a flight attendant right now, trying to open the emergency exit,” according to ABC News.
The flight originally took off from Omaha, and was headed to Detroit, before having to make the emergency landing in Iowa.
X user @jspencervan (J.S.V.), who posted the video from the flight, shared additional details in a follow-up post.
JSV said even before their flight departed, Nikprelaj started causing a ruckus. Seated in the emergency exit row, he “refused to follow basic safety protocols, ignored the flight attendant’s repeated instructions and got verbally aggressive,” JSV wrote.
Nikprelaj stood up and unbuckled his seatbelt as the plane turned onto the runway, forcing the crew to intervene. Once in the air, he started trying to open the cabin door. The other passengers began yelling, and flight attendants had to move him to another seat.
After the pilots declared an emergency and began the descent into Cedar Rapids, Nikprelaj reportedly got up from his seat and started walking toward the front of the plane, which resulted in yet another scuffle as other passengers jumped up to hold him back.
When the plane landed, police boarded the plane and arrested the wild passenger.
According to a report by Click on Detroit, Nikprelaj is no stranger to police. In 2024, he was arrested trying to steal a snow plow truck in Detroit, after being kicked out of his girlfriend’s car.
The Cedar Rapids Police Department posted the following details on Facebook:
Cedar Rapids, IA – On July 17, 2025, at approximately 6:13p.m., Cedar Rapids Police were dispatched to the Eastern Iowa Airport following an in-air disturbance by a single male passenger on a SkyWest flight from Omaha to Detroit. The flight diverted to Cedar Rapids where police officers met the flight and arrested the individual.
The passenger has been identified as Mario Nikprelaj, age 23, from Nebraska.He was transported to the Linn County Correctional Center on the following charges:
– Disorderly Conduct
– Assault
– Possession of Prescription Medication
– Tax Stamp
– Harassment 1st Degree
KCRG.com reported that “A Linn County judge gave Nikprelaj a $10,000 bond and a no-contact order.”
‘Unruly passenger’ that got flight from Omaha to Detroit diverted to Eastern Iowa Airport arraigned https://t.co/udI4nJK1kY
— KCRG-TV9 (@KCRG) July 18, 2025
READ MORE from Fox News.
Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter.)
The DML News App: www.X.com/DMLNewsApp
