Some Other Passengers Also Decided To Change Planes

Things got a little hairy as passengers boarded United Airlines Flight 727 at Dulles airport in the Washington, DC area going to Tampa Sunday night. One of the passengers made a comment to a flight crew member, which resulted in nine men being removed from the plane, and another 15 passengers deciding to change their travel plans.

The nature of the comment has still not been revealed, but United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy told CNN that the nine men were interviewed and then re-booked on a Monday flight to Tampa. She said the crew refused to fly with the nine passengers on board.

Accounts vary as to what actually happened on the airplane. The Tampa Tribune reports that while the airline said local authorities were involved in removing the passengers from the plane, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police said the passengers were already off the plane when they arrived at the gate.

Television station WTSP reports that there were 15 other passengers who requested a different flight after seeing the others removed from the plane. One of the passengers who took a later flight to Tampa, John Luke, told the station that the nine were seated throughout the plane, and that police came in with their hands on their guns and escorted the men off the aircraft. He said that the fact that the men appeared to know each other triggered concern for himself and other passengers, and they asked to be flown to Tampa on a later flights.

FMI: www.tsa.gov, www.ual.com