United Airlines flight 1533 was originally supposed to be a relatively routine jaunt from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to the sun-soaked sprawl of Miami. Instead, it made a surprise pit stop in the balmy paradise of New Orleans after a passenger reportedly unleashed his wrath upon a defenseless in-flight entertainment screen.
The flight took off as scheduled on Wednesday morning but things took a turn for the cinematic, and not the in-flight movie kind, roughly midway through the journey when, according to fellow passengers, a man began behaving erratically. The situation escalated from suspicious to headline-worthy when he allegedly punched the seatback screen, which presumably had the audacity to malfunction or play a film not endorsed by the Academy.
The flight crew, not trained as therapists or bouncers but occasionally required to be both, decided that one punch was too many. In a decision best described as part safety protocol and part “we are not dealing with this today,” the pilot diverted the aircraft to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. There, the man was reportedly escorted off the plane and into the far less cushioned embrace of local law enforcement.
According to United Airlines, the offending passenger was removed “due to a disruptive incident” which is airline-speak for “someone decided to test the durability of our hardware with bare knuckles.” United added in a statement that the flight went on to “continue to Miami following a short delay,” which, given the detour and police involvement, may win the prize for understatement of the week.
As for the screen, there has been no update on its condition, but thoughts and prayers for the pixels involved.
Flight 1533 eventually arrived in Miami, slightly behind schedule and with one fewer passenger, though several likely gained new material for their next cocktail party story.
Good news though: frequent flier miles were not deducted for detours caused by interpersonal conflict with a screen.