A United Airlines flight from Washing to Denver made an emergency landing back in Washington after the alleged incident on board where a passenger ran towards the cockpit of the aircraft shouting “Jihad, Jihad” and threatening to hijack the plane. According to reports, the man shouted “jihad, jihad” and threatened to hijack the aircraft.
The flight which was carrying 33 passengers and six crew at the time had to return to Washington Dulles International Airport after takeoff on Monday evening when the passenger “failed to comply with crew instructions”, said United Airlines spokesman Luke Punzenberger in a statement.
Punzenberger declined to provide further details, but ABC News reported that the man had to be restrained by other passengers after rushing the cockpit, citing LiveATC.net, which provides air traffic control communications online.
“He ran forward towards the cockpit and was restrained by passengers,” said one of the pilots during the flight, according to ABC News. “Cockpit is secure and we would like to return to the airport and have the authorities meet him.”
Local authorities detained the passenger at the gate, Punzenberger said. ABC News said the man was then taken to a local hospital for checks.
