2 ‘Verbally Abusive’ Passengers Force Plane to Divert After Crew Makes Cryptic Announcement to Not ‘Threaten Anybody’

Two “verbally abusive” passengers were forced off a plane after causing their flight to divert on Friday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said United Airlines flight 6378, operated by Mesa Airlines, made an unscheduled landing at Nashville International Airport around 1:50 p.m. local time on Sept. 5. The crew reported “a passenger disturbance.”

The FAA confirmed it will be investigating the incident.

According to FlightAware, the Houston-bound Embraer 175 took off from Pittsburgh International Airport at 1:16 p.m. local time. Just over an hour later, the aircraft was diverted to Nashville.

A spokesperson for Mesa Airlines told KHOU 11 that the flight was diverted to remove “two verbally abusive passengers” and that local law enforcement met the plane when it arrived.

Passengers on board said flight attendants gave a warning during the situation.

“The flight attendants actually did come on and say, hey, you know, just for the record… it’s not a good idea to threaten anybody on a flight,” passenger Juan Marroquin told the outlet.

Another passenger, John Smith, said the two individuals at first resisted leaving. “I turned around and police officers are trying to escort these people off the plane and at first it didn’t seem like they really wanted to move. I guess they thought about the better process of the whole situation, and so they got off the plane,” he explained.

A representative for Nashville International Airport referred questions to Mesa Airlines, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.

Just last week, another passenger was forcibly removed from an aircraft after allegedly refusing to turn off his phone.

Video from Sept. 1 shows an Enugu Air customer dragged off a jet by federal airport authorities. The flight had been set to depart Enugu for Lagos, Nigeria.

Obiageli Orah, the director of public affairs and consumer protection at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, told Newsflare that the man ignored repeated safety instructions.

“So far, what we have gathered is that a passenger was meant to switch off his mobile phone, but he refused to abide by that instruction,” Orah said. “Other passengers also asked him to turn off his phone, and when he refused, security personnel on the ground were alerted.”

She added, “The aircraft had to go back to deplane him.”