Fights over reclining seats in a plane

A United Airlines passenger used a Knee Defender device to prevent the seat in front of him from reclining. The woman in the seat in front of him threw a cup of water at the man resulting in a fight. The flight was diverted to Chicago and both passengers were made to leave the plane.

When people suddenly recline their seats they can hit the knees of the person sitting behind. If the person has an open laptop on his meal table there is a risk of jamming the laptop into him. If there is a can of soda on the meal table, the sudden reclining of the seat in front can cause the can to spill over the passenger.

If you are economically challenged and travel Economy, be considerate and make sure the person behind you is not using the meal table before you press the recline button. You may even be surprised to find that your seat does not recline because the person behind you is using a Knee Defender - a plastic device which slides down the arms of a tray table and blocks the seat from reclining.