Washington flight turned around after passenger screamed “Jihad”

An incident occurred Monday around 10:15 p.m. when United Flight 1074 left the Dulles International Airport in Washington involving an unidentified male passenger that rushed toward the cockpit yelling “jihad, jihad,” forcing the plane to make a U-turn in the air while other passengers subdued the culprit.

The Boeing 737 housed 33 passengers and six crew members in its flight to Denver, but had to turn around when the unruly passenger “failed to comply with crew instructions,” according to United Airlines spokesman Luke Punzenberger.

CNN reports that there is no evidence to support that the man is associated with terrorists and no weapons were found on his person. However, it is still cause for concern with memories of September 11, 2001 still embedded in our memories and with recent threats from the extremist group ISIS.

“He ran forward towards the cockpit, and he is being restrained by passengers,” one of the pilots said. “The cockpit is secure, and we would just like to return to the airport and have the authorities meet him.”

A video recorded from another passenger’s cell phone shows the man with bruises on his face, noticeably under his eye and near his mouth.

During the video, the man can be heard as he pleads, “Please stop, please stop, they said call it off.” He later seems to cry, “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t move,” one passenger says trying to calm the man. “You’re OK. We’re going to get you off this plane, buddy.”

The plane arrived back at Dulles around 10:40 p.m. and the man was taken into custody by authorities and transported to a hospital for evaluation. All the passengers have rebooked their flights to Denver and none were harmed during the flight.