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A United Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis, Minnesota, made an emergency landing in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday after a passenger allegedly attempted to storm the cockpit, according to air traffic control audio.
The flight, which took off from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport at roughly 8 p.m. CDT, “landed safely in Madison, Wisconsin to address a security concern with an unruly passenger,” United said in a statement shared with Digital.
The flight landed in Madison’s Dane County Regional Airport roughly 90 minutes after takeoff, according to flight tracking data.
While United did not reveal the specific nature of the security concern, air traffic control audio from Dane County Regional Airport reviewed by WISN revealed that the passenger made “multiple attempts to breach the cockpit.”
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A United Airlines Boeing 777-222ER in the blue sky. (iStock)
“I do not believe they ever cuffed him, but they were able to finally get control of him after multiple attempts to try to breach the cockpit,” a crew member says on air traffic control audio. “I believe at this point he is seated in a seat and flanked with law enforcement officers on either side.”
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Scanner audio from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) reviewed by Digital revealed additional details from the incident.
“We’re getting word that there is five off-duty law enforcement on the plane that have the individual detained,” a sheriff’s office member can be heard saying.
A United Express plane arrives at a docking bay April 18, 2014, at the Madison, Wisconsin, airport. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
Authorities removed the unruly passenger from the flight at roughly 10:30 p.m. CDT, sheriff’s office communications revealed.
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“On May 29, 2026, the FBI was notified that a commercial flight traveling from Chicago to Minneapolis was being diverted to Dane County Regional Airport. FBI Milwaukee’s Madison Resident Agency and local law enforcement partners responded immediately. A subject was detained by the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and afterwards passengers resumed their flight,” the FBI said in a statement shared with FOX 6 Milwaukee.
A United Airlines plane sits on the ground. A United flight was diverted to Madison, Wisconsin, after an unruly passenger reportedly tried to storm the cockpit multiple times. (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto)
Digital contacted Madison Police Department, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, TSA, the FBI and the Dane County Regional Airport for more information.
