‘Alex Cross’ movie offends family, leads to diverted airline flight

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A violent in-flight movie apparently proved to be too much for a family traveling with kids, setting off a chain of events that led to the pilot diverting the flight and an airline taking a second look at its entertainment offerings.

The incident happened on a United flight from Denver to Baltimore on Feb. 2, but is just now coming to light after the family wrote about the experience in a letter to The Atlantic.

In the missive, a Baltimore man – whose name has been withheld – said he was traveling with his wife and their 4-year-old and 8-year-old sons when the movie “Alex Cross” began to play on drop-down screens above the seats.

The film is rated PG-13, according to the Internet Movie Database, which summarizes the plot this way: “A homicide detective is pushed to the brink of his moral and physical limits as he tangles with a ferociously skilled serial killer who specializes in torture and pain.”

Alarmed by the opening scenes, the passenger said he asked two flight attendants to turn off the monitor nearest his kids, but was told it could not be done and that crew members had no authority or ability to change or turn off the movie.

The family then asked if the captain could address the issue, but received no response, according to the letter. About an hour later, the pilot announced the flight was being diverted to Chicago, where authorities questioned the family and the airline booked them on the next flight to Baltimore Washington International Airport, the man wrote.

In the letter, the passenger calls the pilot’s decision to divert an “abuse of power” after what he describes as “collegial” interactions with the crew, with no voices raised and no threats made.

The man also decries “United’s decision to inflict upon minors grossly inappropriate cinematic content, without parents or guardians having the ability to opt out.”

“Had this been in a cinema or a restaurant, we would have simply left if the content were too violent, or too sexual, for a preschooler and a 2nd grader. Cruising at 30,000 feet, leaving was not an option,” the passenger wrote.

United confirmed that flight 638 from Denver to Baltimore was diverted to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after the crew reported a disturbance involving a passenger.

“The flight landed without incident and the customers were removed from the aircraft,” said United spokeswoman Jennifer Dohm, in a statement to NBC News.

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