‘Aggressive’ United Airlines passenger bites flight attendant after plane takes off from Miami
Flight was forced to land in Orlando, where law enforcement officers were waiting to remove the woman from the aircraft
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An “aggressive” United Airlines passenger was caught on camera biting a flight attendant after a plane took off from Miami this week.
United Flight 762 left Miami International Airport in Florida for a flight to Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday evening but was forced to make a sudden diversion to Orlando after the unnamed female passenger began causing chaos on board the flight.
United told The Independent in a statement that the passenger became “aggressive and disruptive” and so the flight attendants “worked to de-escalate the situation and protect other customers.”
Cellphone footage of the incident, obtained by TMZ, shows a woman screaming and yelling profanities at other passengers while the flight crew tries to detain her in the aisle.
Flight attendants are seen trying to de-escalate the situation by placing zip-ties on her, before the woman is seen trying to bite the shirt of one of the crew.
“Let go of me; I’m a f****** girl. What are you gonna do, kill me?” the woman appears to say in the footage.
“These people have an attitude problem, and they don’t f****** do their jobs. They’re handcuffing me. Why are you handcuffing me?’ she yells.
The woman also goes on to yell profanities and threaten someone off-camera in the clip.
The vidoe shows police officers boarding the plane and escorting the woman off to clapping from other passengers.
United said that the flight crew decided to land in Orlando, where law enforcement was waiting to remove the woman from the aircraft.
A spokesperson for the Orlando Police Department told FOX 35 that the passenger was transported to a local hospital for a medical evaluation, adding that an arrest had not been made as of Wednesday.
The Independent has contacted the Orlando Police Department for further information.
The chaotic incident meant the flight was delayed by three and a half hours as the flight crew had to be replaced by a new crew in Orlando, WSVN reported.
“This flight is here in Orlando and the crew is not going to continue on because of what happened between here and Miami,” staff in the Orlando terminal announced.
It is unclear what caused the woman to start acting “aggressively” on the flight.
So far in 2024, there have been 893 reports of unruly passengers reported to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments