A passenger allegedly went berserk aboard a United Airlines flight, attacking a flight attendant and trying to force his way into the cockpit before the pilot declared an emergency during a terrifying disturbance aboard an international flight bound for Newark.
Authorities said the chaos unfolded on a Saturday evening at the beginning of May on United Flight 1837 as the aircraft approached Newark Liberty International Airport after departing from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
The incident sparked frantic radio traffic and a rush for emergency crews to meet the plane on the runway.
In audio that circulated online after the flight landed, an airport staffer could be heard urgently warning air traffic control that the pilot needed immediate assistance.
“The pilot wants to declare an emergency, it seems someone just attacked one of our flight attendants,” the staffer said.
The air traffic controller initially appeared not to grasp the seriousness of the situation. “We’ll move them in just a sec,” the controller replied.
“Can we get emergency vehicles out here,” the staffer quickly interrupted.
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“A gentleman just attacked one of the flight attendants and tried to open the forward main cabin door.”
“Oh my God,” the controller responded.
The staffer then revealed the passenger had also allegedly attempted to break into the cockpit.
“He tried to gain access to the flight deck,” the employee said.
Moments later, the pilot himself broke into the radio traffic. “We’re asking for a gate ASAP, and we need to be met by law enforcement,” the pilot said. “We had someone try to pop our door open.”
The plane landed around 5:21 p.m. and Port Authority Police arrested a 48-year-old man shortly after the aircraft reached Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey.
Authorities have not publicly identified the suspect. Police said the man was transported to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Officials said one person on board declined medical treatment at the scene and no additional injuries were reported.
United Airlines later praised the crew members who helped contain the incident.
“Local law enforcement met United flight 1837 upon its scheduled arrival at Newark International Airport to address an unruly passenger,” the airline said in a statement.
“We’re grateful to our crew for their efforts to ensure the safety of fellow crew members and our customers.”
The frightening confrontation was only the latest in a string of disturbing incidents involving commercial flights in recent weeks.
Another passenger erupted during a drawn out tarmac delay on a different flight before wrenching open an airplane’s emergency exit door during a standoff with flight attendants.
Video of the outburst spread rapidly online after being posted to Reddit in late April.
According to the person who uploaded the footage, the incident happened aboard a Chicago-bound flight departing from Atlanta after severe weather left the aircraft stranded on the tarmac for hours.
The user said thunderstorms across the Southeast caused extended delays while the plane sat packed with 168 passengers.
The video showed the agitated traveler arguing with flight attendants while demanding to be allowed off the aircraft.
“Get me to the gate, I want off!” the man shouted. “Or I’ll take myself off.”
He then stormed toward the exit and pulled open the plane’s emergency door.
One horrified flight attendant could be heard screaming, “Oh my God.”
“‘Oh my God!’ Who are you?” the passenger snapped back.
“It doesn’t matter, exactly,” he continued. “You know who matters? Me. I told you idiots.”
The pilot eventually came over the intercom and informed passengers the aircraft would return to the gate.
“Good idea!” the passenger shouted back. The footage ended shortly afterward.
The Reddit user later said authorities met the plane when it arrived back at the terminal.
“When they returned to the gate, he was met [by] airport police/air marshals,” the user wrote.
“There was a scuffle, he threw his luggage at a flight attendant — and was arrested.”
Delta later confirmed law enforcement removed the passenger from the aircraft.
“The safety of our customers and crew comes before all else, and Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior,” a company spokesperson said.
The airline also apologized to passengers for the lengthy delay.
Another horrifying commercial aviation incident unfolded late Friday night at Denver International Airport when a Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a man who had wandered onto the runway.
Newly released surveillance footage showed the unidentified individual climbing over a perimeter fence before walking into the aircraft’s path during takeoff.
The collision happened around 11:19 p.m. and triggered a brief engine fire that authorities later extinguished.
Emergency radio traffic captured first responders describing a gruesome scene.
“Runway 17L is closed,” one responder reportedly stated. “I do have limbs on the runway. I believe the aircraft struck an individual.”
ABC News later reported the victim was “at least partially consumed” by one of the plane’s engines.
Passengers onboard described the terrifying impact as feeling like an explosion.
“We’re going pretty fast and I felt like the plane started to tilt up when out of nowhere, it just — we felt a thud and heard an explosion,” passenger Jose Cervantas told The National Desk.
“I was right on the wing, so I looked to my right and I see the right wing just on fire.”
Cervantas said the aircraft swerved after the collision before coming to a stop.
“Then the cabin starts to fill up with smoke and that’s when they started evacuating everybody,” he recalled.
Another passenger described sparks erupting near the engine as the plane rapidly descended back toward the runway.
“We immediately came back down, there was fire on the engine, there was lots of sparks that are happening,” the traveler told NBC News.
Videos filmed inside the cabin showed panicked passengers attempting to exit the plane while smoke spread through the aircraft.
“As soon as we saw the sparks on the flight smoke filled the cabin completely,” one passenger told NBC. “It was super hard to breathe.”
12 people reportedly suffered injuries during the evacuation and five were transported to local hospitals.
Authorities later identified the man killed on the runway as 41-year-old Michael Mott.
Denver’s chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, according to ABC7. Officials said no suicide note was recovered.
The incident remains under investigation by the FAA, NTSB and Frontier Airlines.
