A JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston had to be diverted to Orlando after a deranged passenger calling himself “the devil” allegedly punched a woman who was traveling with him, according to witnesses.<br /><br />The violent incident occurred Thursday night aboard JetBlue Flight 170, which was disrupted and delayed by more than five hours.<br /><br />The airline confirmed to The Post Friday that the flight was “diverted to Orlando due to a disturbance between two customers on board.”<br /><br />A male passenger, who has not been publicly identified, made threats, told those around him that he was the devil, and physically assaulted his female travel companion, WCVB-TV reported, citing eyewitness accounts.<br /><br />A man who sat near the crazed customer in the back of the plane told the station that flight attendants placed the woman in the bathroom for safety — and the man was punching the door to try to get her out.<br /><br />Traveler Max Seelig, who sat in the front of the aircraft, said one of the crew members told him and his neighbors that the plane was going to make a “pit stop” in Orlando, but that it was not going to be announced “in case it angered the man,” he said.<br /><br />Passenger Leo Ruiz recorded a cellphone video showing the out-of-control flyer, wearing a hoodie and baseball hat, being escorted off the plane by officers after it landed in Orlando.<br /><br />It was not until after the man had been safely removed that the pilot explained to the rest of the passengers what was happening, as seen in Ruiz’s recording.<br /><br />“We had a disruptive, violent passenger in the back,” the pilot said. “Unfortunately, I could not make an announcement, tip him off. We didn’t want to agitate him more than he already was, he was attacking another passenger.”<br /><br />A JetBlue spokesperson told The Post that two customers “were deplaned with the assistance of law enforcement, and the flight continued to Boston with a delay.”<br /><br />Passengers said they all had to disembark in Orlando, wait for the plane to be refueled, and for a new crew to arrive, before boarding the aircraft again, with the flight landing in Boston at 4:31 a.m. Friday.<br /><br />Meanwhile, police in Orlando said the unruly passenger has not been arrested.<br /><br />“The individual was intoxicated and transported to a local hospital by [Orlando Fire Department] for treatment,” a department spokesperson told The Post Friday.
