A United Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Newark was forced to make an emergency diversion to Bangor, Maine, on Friday after a passenger reportedly caused a ‘Level 3’ security threat.
United flight 883 departed London Heathrow at around 8:20 am on Friday and it had completed most of its transatlantic flight when the pilots of the Boeing 767 took the decision to divert so that the plane could be met by law enforcement.
The aircraft had just crossed into US airspace when it started to divert, although it’s not clear whether the pilots deliberately chose to land at an airport covered by US law rather than leaving the unruly passengers in the hands of Canadian law enforcement.
Threats to commercial airliners are graded via a four-tier threat matrix, with Level 4 being an actual or threatened breach of the cockpit, while Level 1 is disruptive behavior likes verbal threats.
In this case, a Level 3 threat would indicate ‘life threatening behavior’ which can sometimes include the use or threat of a weapon.
In a statement, a spokesperson for United Airlines confirmed that flight 883 was forced to divert after two passengers who “appeared intoxicated” became disruptive.
“The customers will be banned from future United flights while we review this matter,” the airline said in a statement.
The aircraft remained on the ground for two hours while police removed the two unruly passengers, and then the 150 passengers and ten crew members continued onto Newark.
The FBI will be leading the investigation into the incident and the two passengers face the threat of heavy penalties if prosecutors decide to press charges.
