A view of the Baton Rouge, La., airport on Wednesday.

Updated at  6 p.m. ET: An unarmed passenger who locked himself in the cockpit of a vacant American Eagle plane Wednesday afternoon at the Baton Rouge, La., airport was taken into custody, officials say.

Police had been negotiating with the passenger who boarded the Embraer 145 that was supposed to leave for Dallas as Flight 2795, NBC station WVLA reported.

The FBI identified the suspect as Andrew Alessi, who faces charges of interfering with a flight crew.

The man was distraught but his motive was unclear, the FBI told NBC News.

American Eagle canceled the flight.

The passenger apparently had a ticket for the flight and boarded the plane at the gate after passing through security, they said.

The plane had landed from its previous flight and passengers and crew had left, officials said. The plane was being serviced when the man around noon forced his way past the gate agent, locked himself in the cockpit and tried to communicate with the tower, they said. However, he apparently did not know how to operate the radio or fly the plane, they said.

Power to the plane was cut off, so it was inoperable.

Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com 

The man was unarmed and was not on any no-fly lists, officials said.

The Baton Rouge Police Department and the FBI dealt with the incident, which was not considered a terrorist threat, WVLA reported.

Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter

More content from NBCNews.com:

• Monument to Civil War general, Ku Klux Klan leader triggers controversy
• Scalia: Judges should interpret words, not intent
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans can't name a single Supreme Court justice
• Air Force rules limit size of tattoos, role of gospel
• Mystery Michigan Powerball winner contacts lottery officials
• Did two women killed by train derailment contribute to crash?

Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook