United Airlines flight forced to divert after passenger gets stuck in the bathroom

The Boeing 737 was travelling from Washington to San Francisco when it diverted to Denver

FILE PHOTO: United Airlines first new livery Boeing 737-800 sits at a gate after arriving at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., June 5, 2019. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski/File Photo  GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD
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Plane diversions are hardly a rare thing and are usually due to a mechanical issue or because a passenger requires urgent medical attention.

But have you ever heard of a flight being diverted because a passenger became stuck in the bathroom?

This is what happened to United Airlines flight UA1554 which was travelling from Washington DC to San Francisco on Wednesday evening.

The plane had to be diverted to Denver where passengers eventually disembarked and boarded a new flight.

Taylor Kimber, a passenger on the flight, videoed the scenes as crew and passengers tried to gain access to the bathroom to release the person who was stuck.

She said the Denver Fire Department arrived once they had landed to free the person who was unharmed.

She kept her Twitter followers updated on the "random adventure" with the official comments passengers were receiving via SMS from United Airlines while the incident was playing out.

One of these messages from United stated: "The maintenance team will need more time to complete their work, and we are currently in the process of assigning your flight a new plane ... we know this delay wasn't part of your travel plans, so we appreciate you hanging in there."

United Airlines responded directly to her on Twitter, saying: "Thanks so much for your patience and understanding today, Taylor!"

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50 years of the Boeing 747