A United Airlines flight was diverted after a "biohazard" incident on board caused crew members to vomit and left passengers requesting for masks. Flight 2477, which was headed to Boston from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Sunday morning, had to make an early landing in Washington, DC.
The flight had to make an emergency landing so that the aircraft could undergo "a deep clean" after a passenger fell ill. According to radio communication from the pilot, the situation was so serious that crew members and other people on board started to feel sick, including the crew, leading the pilots to request a diversion and an emergency landing at DC.
Bizarre Situation
"I talked to the crew and it sounds like it's quite bad back there. The crew is vomiting, and passengers all around are asking for masks," a crew member was heard saying in audio from the flight.
"Especially with this kind of being a biohazard, I think we need to get this plane on the ground ASAP," a pilot on board said to air traffic control in audio shared on X.
"The crew is vomiting and passengers all around are asking for masks, etc. I talked to the crew and it sounds like it's quite bad back there."
Upon arrival at Dulles, none of the 155 passengers and 6 crew members required medical assistance.
"The aircraft is currently undergoing a deep clean and we are working to get customers on their way to Boston soon," United said.
Flight tracking indicates that the aircraft is scheduled to depart from Dulles and resume its journey to Boston at 3:40 p.m. ET.
Chaos on Flight
This isn't the first time a flight had to make an emergency landing due to a passenger. On July 9, during a mid-flight outburst, a passenger bit a piece of fabric from a United Airlines flight attendant's shirt and told an "old lady" to "go back to Russia."
The incident occurred on United Airlines Flight 762 from Miami to Newark, which had barely taken off when the woman became unruly over a minor dispute about the restroom.
Another passenger took a video after the crew restrained the woman's wrists with zip ties as she struggled with three crew members.
At one point, she bit one of their shoulders, ripping a piece of fabric from the shirt, which then fell to the floor in front of the shocked passengers.
Everyone on the plane applauded when she was removed after the flight was diverted to Orlando, resulting in a three-and-a-half-hour delay.
In April, a United Airlines flight had to divert after a dog defecated in the first-class aisle. The messy situation was captured by Reddit user gig_wizard, who reported that they were on the five-hour Flight 422 from Houston to Seattle when it happened on Friday, April 7.
