Flight to Israel turns back after passenger gets into a shouting match with crew
A United Airlines flight bound for Israel landed back in Newark after a passenger got into a shouting match with crew members.
The “disruptive passenger” was on Flight 90, which departed from Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday morning.
But the plane made a U-turn about three hours into the 10-hour trip, the airline confirmed.
An eyewitness told the Israeli media outlet Ynet that the unidentified man wanted to use the bathroom and chose to wait in a seat assigned to crew members only.
When a flight attendant chastised him, the man got into a shouting match with the employee, who threatened to turn the plane around.
The man appeared not to believe the warning, the witness said.
Video from a fellow passenger shows the moment the unidentified man, wearing a black turtleneck, was escorted out of the plane.
A follow-up video shows the man talking about the incident with a group of people back at the Newark airport.
The passenger was escorted off the plane. Jeff Hunt / Twitter United described him as a “disruptive passenger.” Jeff Hunt / Twitter
Passengers figured out the flight had been canceled when their on-screen map showed the U-turn.
United Airlines confirmed that the flight was halted over the man’s unruly behavior and that he was removed by law enforcement.
The airline did not immediately respond to The Post’s additional request for information on the incident.
The disruption ultimately canceled the flight on Sunday, leaving passengers stuck in New Jersey waiting for the rescheduled flight.
Among the frustrated passengers aboard the flight was Jeff Hunt, who was among the many to notice something was wrong when the in-flight progress map showed that the plane was turning back to America.
The man was later seen talking about his case at Newark Liberty International Airport.
United Airlines rescheduled the flight to Tel Aviv later on Sunday. Corbis via Getty Images
Hunt tweeted about the experience, noting that it was part of a long series of mishaps keeping him from Israel on Sunday.
“Trying to make it to Tel Aviv. First flight from DC canceled due to weather,” he wrote. “No worries. Took 3hr train to Newark. Flight delayed 2.5hrs due to weather. 4hrs into flight, unruly passenger requires return to Newark.
“Thanks, bro,” he wrote about the disruptive passenger.
A similar incident occurred last year aboard a United flight from Newark to Tel Aviv, when the plane turned around mid-flight after two passengers assigned themselves business class seats and refused to leave.
Source: New York Post
