United Airlines Flight Diverts to Madison After Passenger Attempts Cockpit Breach

A United Airlines flight traveling from Chicago to Minneapolis was diverted after an unruly passenger attempted to enter the cockpit late on Friday.

The FBI and local police responded to the security incident, detaining the passenger at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin.

The aircraft continued to Minneapolis, landing early Saturday morning, according to FlightAware data. No injuries were reported among the 147 passengers and six crew members.

United Airlines said Flight 2005 “landed safely in Madison … to address a security concern with an unruly passenger.”

The FBI in Milwaukee confirmed its agents, together with local law enforcement, responded to the diversion and detained the individual.

“A subject was detained by the sheriff’s office, and afterwards passengers resumed their flight,” an FBI spokesperson said.

Air traffic communications captured by NBC News showed crew members discussing the attempted cockpit breach with ground control.

“I do not believe they ever cuffed him, but they were able to finally get control of him after multiple attempts to try to breach the cockpit,” a crew member said. “He is now seated and flanked by law enforcement officers.”

Aircraft hijackings are extremely rare in the United States since the September 11, 2001 attacks, which involved four hijacked planes.

Historically, between 1968 and 1972—a period sometimes called the “golden age” of hijacking—more than 130 U.S. planes were seized, often with demands to be flown to Cuba.

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