A United Airlines flight from Newark Liberty International Airport was forced to divert Thursday, May 21, after an unruly passenger allegedly attempted to open the plane’s door while the plane was at 36,000 feet.
United Airlines Flight 1551, a Boeing 737 Max 8 with about 145 passengers and six crew members on board, took off from Newark around 7 p.m., bound for Guatemala City, according to United Airlines officials. However, the plane was “forced to land at Washington-Dulles International Airport due to a disturbance caused by one of its passengers.”
Air traffic control audio revealed a tense exchange between officials. A crew member confirmed that the passenger attempted to open “door 2L at 36,000 feet.”
He later also assaulted another person on board.
According to United Airlines, the flight landed safely and was “met by law enforcement.” The perpetrator of the disturbances is under arrest by the authorities.
The flight was later canceled following the incident. United Airlines announced that passengers had been provided with overnight accommodations and that a new flight was departing Friday morning.
Under FAA rules, the agency can impose up to $43,658 per violation.
One event can lead to the commission of several violations. It is unclear at this stage whether the passenger will be criminally charged.
This incident comes after several others involving United Airlines planes arriving from Newark. This was due to a complaint from passengers who were stranded for about seven hours on one of the airline’s planes in Newark, bound for Chicago.
