Passengers subdue chaotic man on board Turkish Airlines jet

The scene as Associated Press photographer Hussein Malla observes as passengers and crew aboard a Turkish Airlines jetliner subdue a man who started screaming a few minutes after takeoff from Istanbul. Turkey, Friday June 14, 2019. The unidentified man began smashing at an oxygen mask box and damaged a cabin window, before pushing flight attendants aside and rushing toward the cockpit, but then calmed down and after about 2½ hours flying, the pilots announced that the plane was returning to Istanbul.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The scene observed by Associated Press photographer Hussein Malla, as an unidentified passenger confronts plane crew members aboard a Turkish Airlines jetliner while in flight from Istanbul, Turkey, Friday June 14, 2019. The unidentified man had to be subdued when he began smashing at an oxygen mask box and damaged a cabin window, before pushing flight attendants aside and rushing toward the cockpit, but then calmed down and after about 2½ hours flying, the pilots announced that the plane was returning to Istanbul.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

An Associated Press photographer says passengers on board a Turkish Airlines flight to Sudan had to subdue a man who started screaming soon after takeoff and began smashing an oxygen mask box and then a cabin window, before pushing flight attendants aside and rushing toward the cockpit.

Hussein Malla, who was on Friday's flight, said several passengers stopped the man in the Boeing 737-900's business class section. Flight attendants calmed him down and the plane kept heading to Khartoum.

Hours later, the pilots announced the plane was returning to Istanbul. The man suddenly stood up and headed toward the front of the plane, when others grabbed him and shackled him with plastic restraints.

Police escorted the man off the plane at Istanbul. The airline and police did not immediately respond to AP requests for comment.