United Airlines passenger in 'mental crisis' attempts to storm cockpit before take-off, forcing captain to return to the gate
- A 31-year-old man tried to open the cockpit and exit door while United flight 1641 was taking off from Chicago to Los Angeles
- He was sent to a hospital for mental evaluation, but was not arrested
- The flight was rescheduled and landed at LAX at 2.38 the next day
A 31-year-old man in 'mental crisis' tried to open the cockpit and exit doors during takeoff on a United Airlines flight last week.
The Boeing 737 was expected to take off from Chicago O'Hare Airport at 7.40pm on September 8 bound for LAX, but was forced to return to the gate thanks to the man's outburst.
The passenger - who has not been identified - was escorted off the plane by police and taken for a mental evaluation but has not been charged.
The flight was rescheduled, took off at 12.52am and landed at LAX at 2.38am, according to FlightAware's records.
A 31-year-old man tried to open the cockpit and exit door while United flight 1641 was taking off from Chicago to Los Angeles
In a statement to DailyMail.com, the FAA said: 'Law enforcement met the unruly passenger at the gate.'
Chicago Police Department said: 'An outbound flight from O'Hare airport was taxiing toward the runway when an announcement was made from the cockpit regarding an earlier incident that caused the flight to be delayed.
'After the announcement, a passenger possibly in crisis exited his seat and began moving about the cabin and talking in a repetitive manner.
'The decision was made to return to the gate and the male, 31 was escorted off the aircraft and was taken to an area hospital for an evaluation.'
More than 2,455 'unruly passengers' were reported last year according to the FAA's report.
Twenty-two cases were forwarded to the FBI for prosecution.
A Boeing 737 was expected to take off from Chicago O'Hare Airport at 7.40pm to Los Angeles International Airport but was forced to return to the gate at around 9pm
