MSNBC: Government and airline officials say a United Airlines plane with 144 people aboard returned to Washington-Dulles International Airport for an emergency landing escorted by two F-16 fighter jets after a fight broke out between passengers.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown says Flight 990 bound for Accra, Ghana, returned to Dulles in Chantilly, Virginia, just after midnight Sunday after a fistfight in the cabin. The two fighter jets were dispatched from Andrews Air Force Base after the pilot reported the disturbance, said U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander William Lewis, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command. They shadowed the airline flight all the way back to Dulles, where it landed safely, Lewis said.
"They were just following typical procedures when you have disturbances," Lewis said. "It's pretty commonplace whenever there's an airspace violation."
Police met the two passengers at the gate when Flight 990 landed back at Dulles early Monday morning, but neither passenger was injured and they were not arrested, said airport spokesman Rob Yingling.
The Washington Post, which first reported the incident, reported that the fight began not long after takeoff when a passenger lowered his seat and a passenger behind him objected. The pilot, the Post reported, decided to return to the airport when he was unsure of the scope of the problem.
United spokesman Mike Trevino said Tuesday that the Boeing 767 dumped fuel as a safety precaution to lighten its weight on landing. The plane can take of with 16,700 gallons of fuel, The Washington Post report stated.
It was unclear what arrangements were made for the travelers to reach their destination.
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