A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Japan after an unruly passenger allegedly caused chaos mid-flight, triggering a police response and hours-long delays.
Passengers said the travel nightmare unfolded shortly after takeoff, when the passenger’s behavior rapidly spiraled.
United Flight UA858 took off from Shanghai Pudong Airport at 12:43 p.m. Wednesday aboard a Boeing 777-300 with 285 passengers and 16 crew members on board.
About two hours into the trans-Pacific trip, the crew diverted the jet to Tokyo Narita Airport, where it touched down at 4:37 p.m. local time, according to flight tracking data.
Once the plane was on the ground, at least seven officers from the Chiba Prefectural Police boarded the aircraft and escorted the Chinese-speaking passenger at the center of the disturbance off the flight.
“She tossed all the documents in her seat pockets in the air, shouted cuss words periodically, and also periodically started hitting herself,” one witness said.
The same account described confrontations with cabin crew, including claims that the passenger accused staff of trying to “oppress” her.
During one interaction, a purser attempted to intervene but was reportedly met with physical resistance.
“The crew captain [purser] tapped several times on her shoulder for her attention. In a startle reflex without even seeing who it was, she elbowed back,” the witness said.
Disruption continued during meal service, with passengers saying she threw food packaging onto the floor and repeatedly shouted in the cabin.
Air marshals reportedly issued warnings before the captain made the decision to divert the aircraft for safety reasons
After landing in Tokyo, police escorted the passenger off the aircraft.
Several travelers said there was confusion onboard about the removal.
“Personally, I felt it was a mix of misunderstanding, overreaction, and mismanagement from both sides,” one passenger said.
Following the unscheduled stop, passengers reported that a maintenance issue was discovered, delaying the onward journey.
The flight eventually resumed at around 6:15 p.m. and continued on to San Francisco, arriving around an hour and 40 minutes later than scheduled after the delay.
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