UNSCHEDULED PIT STOP

Shanghai-Bound Delta Flight Forced to Divert After Passenger Chaos

The plane was en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai when an altercation forced the pilot to land in Seattle.

An unruly traveler aboard a Shanghai-bound Delta Air Lines flight triggered an unscheduled landing in Seattle, the carrier said late Sunday. Details of the incident remain unclear, but the Airbus A350 had left Los Angeles and was traveling above the coast of northwest Washington state when the flight crew had to repeatedly ask the passenger to follow directions they had given. The traveler appears to have been uncooperative, and so the team, citing concern “for the safety of the aircraft and passenger,” opted to land at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, a Delta representative has confirmed. Local police were waiting on the tarmac once the 2-year-old jet eventually reached its gate. What became of the unruly passenger after the unscheduled arrival also remains unclear. But the incident meant that 271 other passengers, alongside a crew of 11 attendants and four cockpit officers, faced an unexpected overnight stay in the city. The carrier said they expect the long-haul trip to Shanghai to resume Monday.