Frontier jet diverts after lavatory leak floods cabin

ABC News's report includes passenger footage of a plumber helping with the leak aboard the Detroit-bound flight.

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ABC News Story of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of ABC News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 203,113 views.

Detroit-bound flight forced to divert after water floods cabin

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Water spraying from a lavatory sink prompted a Frontier Airlines pilot to declare a mayday and divert to Chicago O'Hare, fearing the leak could affect the plane's electronics, ABC News reports.

The flight was traveling from Denver to Detroit. Passenger footage in the World News Tonight segment shows water flooding the aisle, followed by a passenger identified as a plumber intervening to help address the leak.

In air traffic control audio, the pilot explains the concern: "Our forward lav sink has sprung a leak, and it's spraying so much water. It's flooding the cabin area in the back." He then requests the diversion, saying, "We're worried about electronics. We'd like to divert to Chicago O'Hare."

Reporting from O'Hare, ABC correspondent Alex Perez says passengers praised the plumber who assisted before the plane landed.

The segment also covers a separate emergency involving a United Airlines flight from Tokyo. In radio recordings, that crew reports a "level three threat" involving an unruly passenger restrained with flex cuffs. Perez reports that the restrained passenger was taken to a hospital after the diversion to O'Hare.

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