United Flight Turns Back After Passenger, Crew Altercation

Another day, another intoxicated and unruly passenger forces an emergency landing.

According to the South China Morning Post, a United Airlines flight traveling from Beijing to Washington, D.C. was forced to turn back after a passenger "initiated an altercation" with a crew member Friday night.

The incident occurred shortly after the flight departed Beijing Capital International Airport. The Boeing 787 changed course near the Russian border and landed back in Beijing about three and a half hours after departure.

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The Beijing News reported that the disturbance started when two passengers got into an argument. One of the passengers involved appeared to be intoxicated. A flight attendant stepped in to quell the dispute to no avail, leading the flight crew to issue a level two threat alert and contact police.

"Flight 808 from Beijing to Washington Dulles returned to Beijing after a customer initiated an altercation with a member of the flight crew, causing a safety concern," United Airlines' director of corporate communications, Frank Benenati, told the Morning Post in an emailed statement.

"Law enforcement met the aircraft at the gate and the customer voluntarily deplaned without incident."

United provided the remaining passengers with hotel accommodations and meal vouchers for the night. They were rebooked on another flight for the following day.

READ MORE: Flight Cheers as Passenger Subdues Drunk Flier

During a similar incident over the weekend, a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Bali was diverted to Chennai, India after an inebriated woman fought her husband after discovering he was cheating on her. Last month, a British man spent nearly a week in jail after his drunken antics forced a TUI Airways flight from Cancun to Manchester, England to divert to eastern Canada.

A recent string of similarly troubling incidents has prompted Irish budget carrier Ryanair to call on U.K. airports to crack down on excessive alcohol consumption.

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