United Airlines flight to Washington forced to turn back to Beijing after passenger clashes with flight attendant
Cabin crew sends emergency alert after passenger who appeared to have been drinking became ‘physically abusive’
A United Airlines flight bound for Washington was forced to return to its departure airport in Beijing after a passenger became involved in an altercation with a member of the cabin crew.
Flight UA808 left Beijing Capital International Airport at around 7pm on Friday carrying 212 passengers, but it sent out an emergency code around two hours later.
News reports suggested that the passenger in question had been involved in a dispute with someone sitting in a neighbouring seat and then turned on a flight attendant who tried to calm the situation.
Flight radar images indicate that the Boeing 787 turned around close to the border with Russia while flying over Heilongjiang province. It landed in Beijing at around 10.30pm.
The flight log posted on the website said the passenger in question was sitting in seat 18J in economy-plus class.
It said the crew had issued an alert at threat level two – sent in cases of physically abusive behaviour – after attempts to alleviate the situation failed.