A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Thursday after an incident involving an unruly passenger.
The individual attempted to open a plane door at 36,000 feet and assaulted another passenger, the New York Post reported. The flight took off from Newark Liberty International Airport and was headed to Guatemala City when it had to make an unanticipated landing less than two hours after departure.
United Airlines Flight 1551 landed safely at Washington Dulles International Airport around 8:30 p.m. local time Thursday after the crew reported a passenger disturbance, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight had 145 passengers and six crew members on board, and no injuries were reported in the incident, United Airlines said in a statement sent to the DCNF.
The flight was canceled, with a replacement flight added for Friday morning, and customers were provided overnight accommodations, United Airlines told the DCNF in a statement.
Additional details about what led to the incident have not been released, ABC reported.
Passengers who are unruly can face legal action and civil penalties up to $43,658 per violation. Passengers may face criminal charges for disruptive or violent behavior, the FAA told the DCNF in a statement.
Over 600 unruly passenger incidents have occurred so far in 2026, according to the FAA’s website.
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