United Airlines passengers say they had to tackle a man who rushed the cockpit claiming he had a bomb.
Flight 1074, which was headed for Denver, was abruptly grounded at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Monday night "after a passenger failed to comply with crew instructions," a United spokesman told NBC News.
Officials wouldn't comment further on the incident, but a video made the rounds Monday night showing the suspect, apparently being held down by flight crew and other passengers. In the video (above) the bloodied suspect can be heard apologizing for the episode.
"Relax," someone says on the video. "We're getting you home."
Other passengers on the Boeing 737 told NBC News that the unruly suspect was tackled by other passengers when he attempted to reach the cockpit, claiming he had an explosive. Officials later said no explosives were found on the unidentified man, and he was transported to a local hospital for an evaluation.
The plane was carrying 33 passengers, and nobody else was injured, according to The Washington Post. It was scheduled to depart at 10:15 p.m. and likely wasn't in the air long before it turned back. It later left for Denver International Airport at 12:45 a.m.
The YouTube video, reportedly posted by a passenger, describes the incident as a "hijacking" attempt. Officials haven't confirmed it as such.
More from the AP:
Curtis Tellam of Superior, Colorado, said his wife, Donna, was on the flight and sent him a text describing the incident as "the scariest moment in my life" and saying "some crazy guy just tried to get into the cockpit."
Curtis Tellam said in a phone interview Tuesday that he called his wife after the plane landed and said he could hear other passengers telling the man to calm down.
He said his wife told him she noticed the man acting strangely before the flight, constantly moving his bag from one overhead bin to the next. Tellam's wife told him that shortly after takeoff, the man ran forward in the cabin, through the first-class cabin where she was sitting and almost to the cockpit before three other passengers stopped and restrained him.
She told her husband the man shouted that there were other jihadists on the plane and that he would give the people who were holding him a lot of money if they would let him go.
"She's tough. She flies a lot ... but she's really shaken up," Curtis Tellam said of his wife, who said the man was basically lying at her feet the entire time he was restrained.
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