A United plane made a U-turn to Dulles International Airport after a man attempted to walk into the cockpit screaming “jihad, jihad.” The man was rapidly subdued by two passengers.
United plane’s U-turn to Washington, D.C is grabbing headlines, the incident was caused by an out-of-control passenger. Earlier this week, a United flight from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. heading to Denver was forced to make a U-turn.
According to several passengers, a male in his 40s, was seen running towards the cockpit screaming “jihad, jihad.” The individual did not make it very far, for two male passengers jumped on him and pinned him to the ground.
The men moved so quickly to stop the wild passenger, that many believed that they were air marshals. It was later revealed that it was not the case. Talking to CNN, Joshua Lindstrom, who was on board United Flight 1074, said the man started acting strangely while in his seat.
Mr Lindstrom added:
“The flight attendant gave some sort of command to stand back, and he turned and started heading toward the cockpit. And the guy in 3E was a lightning bolt and just jumped out of his seat and took the guy down to the ground.”
Lindstrom explained that he did not hear the unruly man saying “jihad,” but one of the men, who tackled him confirmed it. The passenger shared:
“He said, ‘Did you hear it? Like he said ‘jihad’ a couple times (while he was being restrained)…. In the end it was more surreal than it was scary. It was wild.”
A brief clip of the incident shows the man bruised as he sits on the floor. After being tied up by a flight attendant, the man repeatedly said sorry for his actions and mumbled the following sentence:
“Please stop, please stop, they said call it off.”
After being in the air for less than 30 minutes, the United plane made a U-turn and landed safely in Washington, D.C. The man was arrested and according to the police, he has no link to ISIS or any other terrorist groups.
The hero passengers will not be charged with any crime. It is believed that the man was having a meltdown on the flight.
What are your thoughts on this incident?
