Plane from Cancun to London emergency landed in the United States due to a fight between two passengers
13 July 00:21
A flight en route from Cancun, Mexico to London was forced to divert and land in the United States after a fight broke out between two passengers on board.
The emergency landing at 21:30 North American Eastern Time resulted in all 267 passengers on board being forced to spend the night in Bangor, Maine, "Komersant Ukrainian" writes, citing the BBC.
They arrived there on Tuesday evening and were only able to take off at 15:00 on Wednesday afternoon.
By the time the flight landed in the coastal US state, the crew on board had to complete their work, and later the airline requested a replacement crew for the flight that departed the next day.
The two passengers involved in the fight did not face criminal charges. But they were both “returned to their countries on separate flights.”
The 787 Dreamliner, operated by British airline TUI, landed safely at London’s Gatwick Airport later on Wednesday.
“This incident involved a flight from one country to another, which diverted due to an argument between two passengers during the flight,” said a spokesman for the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
What happened between these passengers is unknown.
“Upon arrival, CBP officers removed both individuals from the plane. Although no criminal charges were filed, CBP processed the two individuals for expedited deportation.”
Audio recordings of the pilot’s conversation with air traffic control before the emergency landing show that only a few minutes passed between the time the pilot requested a landing in Maine and when officials on the ground directed them to the runway.
“The cockpit is secure, two passengers are fighting and the crew almost has them under control,” the pilot said.
After a brief negotiation, the controller on the ground in Maine informed the pilot that security would be waiting for the plane to land.
