Footage has emerged of passengers detaining a man on board a plane after he apparently ran towards the cockpit and said "jihad".
US media quoted witnesses as saying the man, who appears to be young, claimed there were jihadists in the cargo hold after being stopped in his tracks as he raced towards the front of the aircraft.
The United Airlines flight left Dulles Airport in Washington DC last night before turning back following the incident, a spokesman for the airline said.
"Flight 1074 returned to the airport following takeoff on Monday evening after a passenger failed to comply with crew instructions," he said.
"Local law enforcement officials met the aircraft at the gate and detained the passenger. We will accommodate the remaining customers to Denver on Tuesday morning."
A passenger on board the flight, Donna Tellam, told ABC News she saw two men grab the man and hold him down.
She said: "One held his feet and the other one kind of laid on top of him and then the flight attendants went and got some plastic restraints for his arms.
“At one point when his head was down he said there were jihadists in the cargo hold and he did say jihad a couple times."
The broadcaster also quoted comments made by pilots heard on the LiveATC.net air traffic control audio website.
"He ran forward towards the cockpit and he is being restrained by passengers," one of the aircraft's pilots was heard saying.
A spokeswoman for Dulles Airport said: At around 10.40pm EST (Eastern Standard Time)on Monday, United flight 1074 bound for Denver returned to Washington Dulles International airport because of an issue onboard.
"A passenger was removed from the plane and transported to a local hospital for observation. He has not been charged at this time.
"There was no impact to airport operations, the plane continued on to Denver."
