Praying passenger forces emergency landing

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A praying airline passenger who wouldn't follow an attendant's instructions caused pilots to declare an emergency landing near Washington, officials said.

No one was injured on United Airlines flight 662, which landed safely at Dulles International Airport, its destination,Thursday night, The Washington Post reported.

An emergency landing was declared on the flight, which originated in Denver, after the passenger began yelling and praying in the aisle and would not follow an attendant's instructions as pilots began procedures for landing, WTOP-TV reported.

The attendant got the passenger to sit down but "he got back up, then he was mumbling, then kneeled down in the aisle and he started to pray, and about that time a bunch of other passengers went back and they subdued him," passenger Christopher Haag said.

Police and emergency workers escorted the man off the plane. He was handcuffed and placed in a police cruiser, KUSA-TV in Denver reported.

The man was taken to a hospital for treatment of a "medical issue."