Argument Over Leg Room Diverts Flight

A guy on a United flight from Newark to Denver used something called the Knee Defender to keep the woman in front of him from reclining her seat, and they got in a fight where she threw water on him. The flight was diverted to Chicago and they were both escorted off.

Reclining your seat on a plane might be a little selfish, but taking away someone else's ability to recline their seat isn't cool either.

There's a little device called the Knee Defender that's been on the market for at least a decade that lets you do just that. It costs $22, clips onto the legs of the tray table on the seat in front of you and somehow blocks the seat from reclining.

Well, a 48-year-old guy on a United flight from Newark to Denver had the Knee Defender and he was using it to block the 48-year-old woman in front of him from reclining her seat.

She figured out what was going on and asked a flight attendant to have him take the Knee Defender off. The guy refused, so the woman stood up, turned around, and threw a cup of water on him.

The pilot diverted the flight to Chicago where both of them were escorted off the plane. The plane landed in Denver without the two of them about an hour and a half late.

No charges were filed, and even though the Knee Defender is rude, it IS technically legal under FAA rules although all of the major airlines, including United, say they've banned it on their flights.