A Turkish national, identified as 25-year-old Anil Uskanil, wrapped a blanket or towel on his head and tried to rush the cockpit of American Airlines Flight 31.
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A flight attendant was credited for stopping the man in the aisle with a beverage cart before he got to the cockpit door. Uskanil was then subdued by passengers and an off-duty police officer and eventually duct-taped to his seat.
U.S. Pacific Command confirmed that an F-22 fighter aircraft stationed at Hickam AFB was sent to escort the American Airlines airliner to Honolulu.
American Airlines spokeswoman Katie Cody said the plane from LAX landed in Honolulu at 11:35 a.m., where law enforcement officers were requested to meet.
The man was taken into custody and the rest of the 180 passengers were taken to their terminal by bus. There were no injuries reported.
Shortly before 3 a.m. at LAX, airport police responded to a radio call of a passenger, confirmed by a source to be Uskanil, going through a door from the Terminal 5 concourse that led out onto the airfield ramp. Uskanil was immediately spotted by a contractor and detained.
Airport Police investigated and determined Uskanil had been drinking but did not meet the criteria for drunk in public. A Police K-9 then searched and cleared the area.
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Uskanil was arrested for misdemeanor trespassing, cited, given a pending court date and released from custody before his flight.
American Airlines said he then went back through a TSA checkpoint in Terminal 4, where his flight to Honolulu was leaving from, and boarded the flight.
After determining there was a possible security incident on board, the pilots gradually descended, cruising at 5,000 feet into Honolulu. One reason to do that is to limit the potential damage in case there was an explosion on board.
The FBI Honolulu Office issued a statement saying due to the early stage of their investigation into the incident, they are not speculating about the nature of the event.
"Currently, the FBI is unaware of any other threats aboard American Airlines flights or other aircraft," the statement read in part.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.