United Airlines passenger’s disruptive behavior prompts plane to make U-turn

A United Airlines flight destined for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport reportedly had to perform a U-turn three hours into the flight and return to Newark, New Jersey, after a man on board became unruly with crew members.

According to the flight-tracking website FlightRadar 24, United Airlines Flight 90, which took off from Newark early on Sunday morning, changed course around three hours into its trip and began to head back to the US.

An eyewitness, who spoke to the Israeli news outlet Ynet, claimed that the argument sprang from an Israeli man’s decision to sit in a crew member’s designated seat while he waited to use the bathroom.

A flight attendant and the customer who was seated then allegedly engaged in a shouting dispute, according to the eyewitness, who only wanted to be known as Sholomit. According to the witness, “crew members advised him that if he did not return to his seat, the plane would be turned around and returned to New York.” However, the man ridiculed the crew members, showing that he did not appear to trust them.

When the plane did turn around, she told YNet she was astonished because there had been no notification, adding, “We just noticed it on the map showing our flight path and when we landed, we saw the police waiting for the plane.”

Jeff Hunt, who was aboard the flight, posted a video to Twitter that appeared to show the passenger being escorted from the aircraft.

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