Man rushes cockpit in mid-flight, forces flight to return to airport

Washington: A woman aboard a United Airlines plane texted her husband that she was experiencing the "scariest moment" of her life after a passenger raced screaming toward the cockpit before being subdued by others on the plane, the woman's husband said on Tuesday.

Donna Tellam of Boulder, Colorado was returning from a business trip to London via Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC on Monday night, according to her husband, Curt.

In a text, Donna Tellam told her husband that "some crazy guy just tried to get into the cockpit." She also wrote that three passengers took the person down, right at her feet near her first-class seat.

None of the passengers aboard the flight were reported to be injured.

The plane returned to Dulles and the person was taken off. Officials at Dulles Airport said the passenger who was taken off the plane was "transported to a local hospital for observation."

Kimberly Gibbs, a spokesman for the agency that oversees the airport's operations, said in an e-mail on Tuesday that the passenger "has not been charged at this time."

The incident started around 10.40pm on Monday. Once the person was subdued, the aircraft was searched and the passengers were allowed off the plane around midnight.

Later on Monday night, Ms Tellam texted her husband that the incident was the "scariest moment of my life." She told her husband she grabbed the guy sitting next to her and held on to him.

Ms Tellam told her husband she was sitting on the plane playing a game on her phone and waiting to get her computer when the person ran straight past her, screaming.

He made it to the area where flight attendants typically sit outside the cockpit area before three men tackled him, she recalled to her husband.

Ms Tellam also told her husband that the passenger was saying "jihadists" were on the plane, but authorities have given no details on the incident.

Those who allegedly took him down, according to Ms Tellam's husband, were saying "take off his shoes, check for bombs."

On Tuesday morning, Ms Tellam's husband was getting ready to go pick her up at the airport in Denver.

"I was scared," he said of receiving her text and hearing of the incident.

Few other details emerged from officials on the incident, which unfolded shortly after Flight 1074 took off from Dulles around 10.15pm with 33 passengers and six crew members on board. The Boeing 737 was headed to Denver.

Local law enforcement officials met the plane at the gate at Dulles and the person was detained, according to United Airlines officials.

Luke Punzenberger, a United Airlines spokesman, said in a statement that the passenger "failed to comply with crew instructions."

Mr Punzenberger did not provide additional information on the disruption.

ABC News reported that the person had to be held by other passengers after rushing the cockpit. It cited LiveATC.net, which provides air traffic control communications online.

According to ABC News, the passenger "ran forward towards the cockpit and he is being restrained by passengers," one of the pilots said during the flight.

"Cockpit is secure and we would like to return to the airport and have the authorities meet him," one of the pilots then said, according to the report.

The pilot was said to speak in a calm voice on the recording and told air traffic controllers that he was "declaring an emergency due to a passenger disturbance."

He went on to say that the person was "restrained. We need to return to the airport," according to LiveATC's recording.

After the pilot was asked by controllers, he said the incident was a "Level 2" disturbance. That is said to be the second lowest level of severity on a four-level scale. A Level 2 disturbance in the industry means there has been physically abusive behavior but no life-threatening behavior.

Donna Tellam said to ABC News, "One held his feet and the other one kind of laid on top of him and then the flight attendants went and got some plastic restraints for his arms."

A video online purported to show scenes from the flight. In the video, a person appears to be held down by people on a flight.

Ms Gibbs, the spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority — which oversees Dulles Airport — said in an e-mail that there was "no impact to airport operations." The passengers aboard the plane were rebooked by the airline to Denver.

Washington Post