Passenger attacks flight attendant, tries to breach cockpit on US flight to Newark

The disturbance broke out aboard United Flight 1837 as the Boeing 737 MAX 8 neared Newark on a service from the Dominican Republic, prompting the captain to declare an in-flight emergency before landing.

The aircraft was carrying 170 passengers and six crew members from Gregorio Luperón International Airport in Puerto Plata, CBS News reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration.

In air traffic control audio captured during the descent, the captain told Newark controllers a passenger had attacked one of the flight attendants and was trying to open the forward main cabin door, according to CNN . The pilot then said the man was attempting to gain access to the flight deck and requested emergency vehicles meet the aircraft on arrival. Controllers directed the plane to a gate so officers could board.

The flight landed safely at around 5:21 p.m. local time. Officers from the Port Authority Police Department detained the man on board and took him to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, NBC News reported. A second person aboard the aircraft declined medical attention, and no other injuries were reported. The man's identity has not been released.

United Airlines confirmed in a May 3 statement that local law enforcement had assisted the crew with an unruly passenger and thanked staff for keeping crew members and customers safe. The FAA is investigating the incident.

Cockpit doors on U.S. commercial aircraft have been reinforced and kept locked in flight since the September 2001 attacks, and attempted breaches are treated as among the most serious in-flight security threats. Cases involving the most egregious conduct can be referred to the FBI for criminal prosecution.

The incident lands in the middle of a steady downward trend in U.S. unruly passenger reports that has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Airlines have reported nearly 500 unruly passenger incidents so far this year, according to FAA data. Reports peaked at 5,973 in 2021, when nearly three-quarters of cases involved passengers refusing to comply with the federal mask mandate, and have declined sharply since the agency adopted a zero-tolerance enforcement policy in January of that year.

Under current FAA rules, passengers who assault, threaten, intimidate or interfere with crew members face civil penalties of up to $43,658 per violation, with a single incident potentially producing multiple charges.