A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco from Shanghai was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Tokyo last week after a passenger became disruptive mid-flight.
The passenger confronted crew members and physically struck the aircraft's captain, according to an eyewitness account and a statement from the airline.
Flight UA858, operated on a Boeing 777-300ER with 285 passengers and 16 crew members aboard, departed Shanghai Pudong International Airport on June 24 before the situation onboard escalated, United Airlines confirmed to NTD News in a statement. The carrier said that the flight was diverted to Tokyo's Narita International Airport to address the disruptive passenger, that law enforcement met the aircraft on arrival and removed the passenger, and that maintenance teams inspected the aircraft before it continued on to San Francisco.
Witness accounts posted on
Reddit described a middle-aged Chinese woman being responsible for the incident after she “got into a dispute” with a flight attendant, forcing Japanese police to escort her off the plane. Videos posted on the thread show flight attendants working to de-escalate the situation as the woman can be heard shouting in the background.
The incident follows other recent in-flight disruptions involving United Airlines flights in recent months. In May, a
passenger aboard United flight 1551 from Newark to Guatemala allegedly attempted to open a cabin door at 36,000 feet before assaulting a fellow traveler, prompting the crew to divert to Washington Dulles International Airport. Air traffic control audio captured the pilot describing the door the passenger allegedly tried to open and confirming a fellow passenger had been assaulted.
That same month, a male passenger on United flight 1837 arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport allegedly attacked a flight attendant and attempted to breach the flight deck as the plane was preparing to land. Police detained the man and transported him to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to Port Authority Police.
Just one day after the UA858 diversion, an Air Canada regional flight from Newark to Halifax was forced to make an
emergency landing in Boston after the captain suffered a medical emergency mid-flight. Passengers aboard that flight physically restrained the stricken pilot in the aisle for roughly 40 minutes while the first officer safely landed the plane, according to a traveler who was on board.
"The moment the plane swerved, I knew something was wrong because it was not turbulence," passenger Rodney McDonald
told ABC News. "It really felt like someone had jilted the controls and then it happened over and over again. And, you know, every thought goes through your mind, you start praying. My boys instantly started praying."
United Airlines said in its statement to NTD News that the Shanghai-to-San Francisco flight has since departed Narita and is en route to its original destination.
