LAGOS JULY 12TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A flight travelling from Cancun, Mexico, to London was forced to divert and land in Maine this week after two passengers on board began fighting.
The emergency landing around 21:30 EST (01:30GMT) on Tuesday resulted in all 267 passengers on board being forced to spend the night in Bangor, Maine.
By the time the flight landed in the coastal US state, the crew on board was due to time out. The airline then brought in a relief crew for the flight, which eventually took off 15:00 EST on Wednesday.
The two passengers involved in the fight did not face criminal charges. However, they were both “returned to their home countries on separate outbound flights”.
The 787 Dreamliner, operated by the British airline TUI, landed safely at Gatwick Airport in London later on Wednesday.
“This incident involved a foreign-to-foreign flight that diverted due to an in-flight altercation between two passengers,” a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said. “Upon arrival, CBP officers removed both individuals from the aircraft. Although no criminal charges were filed, CBP processed the two subjects for expedited removal.”
Audio recordings of the pilot speaking with air traffic control ahead of the emergency landing show it was a matter of minutes between when the pilot asked to land in Maine and officials on the ground directed them to a runway.
“Cockpit is secure and there’s two passengers fighting and the crew has pretty much gotten them under control,” the pilot said.
After some back-and-forth, the air traffic controller on the ground in Maine tells the pilot security will be waiting on the ground when the plane lands.
BBC NEWS
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