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An unruly United Airlines passenger allegedly tried to open one of the plane’s doors at a height of 36,000 feet and assaulted another traveler after the jet had taken off from Newark Liberty International Airport.
Pilots aboard United 1551, which was bound for Guatemala City, were forced to make an emergency landing in Washington Dulles on Thursday night, according to FlightAware data.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 plane, which had 145 passengers and six crew on board, departed Newark at 6:46 p.m. for the five-hour flight, but made an unexpected landing at Dulles less than two hours later.
As the plane descended to Dulles, the pilot told air traffic controllers what had unfolded on board, according to ATC.com audio that has since been shared on social media.
“United 1551, they’re asking me what door did the passenger try to open?” a controller said.
“Door, 2L, at 36,000 feet and then [the traveler] assaulted a fellow passenger.”
The controller then asked if there were any injuries on board, to which the pilot replied, “Not to our knowledge.”
A United spokesperson told The Post that the plane landed safely at Dulles and was “met by law enforcement to address an unruly passenger.”
“The flight was canceled, with a replacement flight added for Friday morning, and customers were provided overnight accommodations,” they said.
The unruly act is just the latest incident to affect United Airlines. Earlier this month, a crazed passenger on a flight from the Dominican Republic allegedly attacked a flight attendant and tried to storm the cockpit as it landed at Newark.
Passengers who assault crew members can be slapped with fines up to $43,658, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA has received 608 unruly passenger reports so far this year, compared to 1,621 last year and 2,096 in 2024.
A whopping 5,973 reports were filed in 2021 as air travel restarted following the initial phase of the COVID pandemic – the largest number over the last 10 years.
The Post has reached out to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for comment.
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