Shinichi Inoue, the CEO of All Nippon Airways, presents a certificate of appreciation to Sgt. Maj. Jody Armentrout at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, July 11, 2025. Armentrout helped subdue an unruly passenger on a flight from Tokyo to Houston on May 24. (U.S. Marine Corps)
The CEO of All Nippon Airways recently visited Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni — south of Hiroshima, Japan — to thank a U.S. Marine for intervening during an in-flight disturbance.
Shinichi Inoue, the airline’s chief executive, presented a certificate of appreciation to Sgt. Maj. Jody Armentrout on Friday, for his actions aboard a May 24 flight from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Houston, an ANA spokeswoman told Stars and Stripes by phone that month. Some Japanese officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
“We thank Sgt. Maj. Jody Armentrout for his composed judgment and decisive action to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew of the flight,” Inoue said during the meeting, according to a Monday email from base spokesman Maj. Mason Englehart.
Armentrout — the senior enlisted Marine at MCAS Iwakuni — observed a man behaving anxiously and pacing the aisle during the flight, according to a May 25 report by NBC News. The man then fixated on an emergency exit door, prompting Armentrout to intervene.
“He grabbed a strap around the door, pulled it off, and about that time is when I took him and slammed him, put him on the ground,” Armentrout told NBC. Another passenger assisted in subduing the man, who was later restrained using zip ties provided by flight attendants.
The plane was diverted to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport before continuing to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, landing about four hours behind schedule.
Inoue also offered condolences to Armentrout, a native of Abilene, Texas, for recent flooding in the Texas Hill Country that claimed more than 120 lives.
“Thank you, I am humbled and grateful for this [certificate of appreciation],” Armentrout said during the meeting, according to Englehart’s email.
