A passenger was detained at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday after an altercation aboard United Airlines flight 1837, police and airline officials said. In audio from air traffic control, the pilot said a man attacked a flight attendant and tried to open the main cabin door.
Port Authority Police said they received a report of the disturbance as the flight arrived at Newark. Officers detained a 48-year-old passenger and took him to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, police said. One person on the plane refused medical attention, and no other injuries were reported.
United Airlines said local law enforcement met the flight on its scheduled arrival at Newark International Airport to address an unruly passenger, and the carrier said it was grateful to its crew for working to protect fellow employees and customers. The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight had come from Gregorio Luperón International Airport in the Dominican Republic.
The incident lands as the FAA says airlines have reported almost 500 unruly passenger incidents so far this year. The agency says people who assault, threaten, intimidate or interfere with airline crewmembers can face criminal charges and civil penalties of up to $3,658 per violation.
The answer to the question raised by the Newark episode is immediate: the passenger was removed, hospitalized for evaluation and the flight was met by law enforcement on arrival, with no other injuries reported. What remains is whether the latest case becomes part of another year of mounting cabin disorder, or a one-off that ended on the ground before it could become worse.