A Honolulu-bound plane made an emergency landing at San Francisco International on Tuesday due to an unruly passenger itching for a nicotine fix.

Delta Airlines flight 511, a nine-plus hour flight headed to Hawaii from Cincinnati, was already over the Pacific Ocean when a passenger was reportedly trying to smoke inside the airplane, according to company spokeswoman Chris Kelly. The captain elected to make an emergency landing.

The woman had an anxiety attack while the plane was in the air, locked herself in the bathroom, attempted to smoke a cigarette and become unruly, according to airport and airline officials. It is illegal to smoke on an airplane.

San Francisco International Airport spokesman Mike McCarron said the plane landed at SFO at approximately 1 p.m. Tuesday, where it was met by authorities from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Kelly, who had no further information about the passenger other than that she was female, said that federal authorities interviewed the captain and the passengers surrounding the woman, who was taken off the plane for treatment.

The plane continued on to Honolulu at approximately 2:30 p.m., McCarron said.

tramroop@examiner.com