United Airlines reportedly put some of its aircraft into ‘lockdown’ on Friday night after a passenger onboard a plane preparing for departure from Chicago O’Hare allegedly attempted to break into the cockpit and open the emergency exit doors.
Flight UA1641 had just left the gate and was taxiing for departure to Los Angeles when an unruly passenger attempted to get into the cockpit, according to several reports.
The Boeing 737 immediately returned to the gate where law enforcement was waiting to arrest the suspect, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a statement to Fox News.
The shortlived incident was, however, enough for United to relay a so-called Level 4 threat to a number of its aircraft which were flying at the time.
A Level 4 threat is the most serious threat level and denotes an attempted or actual breach of the flight deck. Some United flights were reportedly put into lockdown, and additional security arrangements were put in place to secure the flight deck against intruders.
The security alert comes just days before the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks, in which two American Airlines jets and two United Airlines airplanes were downed after terrorists viciously attacked passengers and crew members.
United flight UA175 was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 am on 9/11, killing all 65 people onboard and hundreds more in the building.
The passengers and crew onboard United flight UA93 are believed to have heroically fought with the terrorists and prevented them from flying the plane into the White House. The aircraft crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew.
Throughout the month of September, United flight attendants wear black ribbons as a symbol of remembrance.
United did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
