United Airlines Flight 663
A United Airlines Boeing 757, similar to the occurrence aircraft.
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| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 April 2010 |
| Summary | Suspect terrorist attack |
| Site | en route Washington D.C. to Denver |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 757-222 |
| Operator | United Airlines |
| Flight origin | Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Washington, DC) |
| Stopover | Denver International Airport |
| Destination | Las Vegas International Airport |
| Passengers | 157 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 163 (all) |
The United Airlines Flight 663 incident was a "minor international incident" in 2010 involving Qatari diplomat Mohammed Yacoub Al Madadi on the leg of a United Airlines flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Washington, DC) to Denver International Airport (Denver, Colorado). The diplomat prompted a mid-air terrorism alert after smoking in the aircraft lavatory, which led the Qatari government to recall him two days later. United no longer uses Flight 663 as a DCA-DEN-LAS route. UA663 is now used on the Houston-Edmonton route, flown by an Airbus A320.
Flight 663 was a flight between Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC and Denver International Airport, continuing on to Las Vegas International Airport using a different aircraft than the one that operated the Washington–Denver sector. On 7 April 2010, a disturbance involving a passenger happened en route from Washington, DC to Denver. Officials identified the passenger as Mohammed al-Madadi, a diplomat from the Embassy of Qatar in Washington, D.C. Officials took al-Madadi into custody, and the plane landed safely in Denver. The North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled two F-16 fighters to intercept and escort the aircraft into Denver. Officials said the incident was a misunderstanding after al-Madadi attempted to smoke a pipe in the lavatory, then made "an unfortunate remark" after being confronted by two members of the Federal Air Marshal Service. Law enforcement officials said al-Madadi mentioned "lighting his shoes", taken as a reference to shoe bomber Richard Reid.
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