A fight between two attendants forced a Chicago-bound United Airlines
flight to return to Raleigh/Durham shortly after takeoff this morning,
according to The News & Observer of Raleigh.
"Our
law enforcement team was notified by the tower that the captain had
requested law enforcement to meet the aircraft," Mindy Hamlin, RDU
spokeswoman, tells the News & Observer. "The aircraft had gotten about 50 miles out when he reported a possible assault on the aircraft."
The
incident comes exactly one week after a spat between attendants
disrupted a flight on American Airlines affiliate American Eagle. That
incident came last Wednesday (Sept. 20), with the altercation delaying
the New York-to-Washington flight by more than four hours.
As for the most recent flight attendant feud, RDU spokeswoman Hamlin tells ABC 11 of Raleigh-Durham an earlier disagreement between the two United attendants escalated when one brushed into the other - reportedly by accident.
It
was shortly after that - according to the media reports - that the
captain of United Flight 1214 decided to return the Boeing 737-800 to
Raleigh/Durham. The flight, which departed at 6:05 a.m. ET, touched down
at the airport again about 40 minutes after takeoff.
While the
argument was enough to convince the captain to return, ABC 11 reports:
"Investigators determined no blows were exchanged and no assault had
taken place. There were no arrests."
USA Today