Canada Has The Friendliest Skies

On Monday, a United flight on its way from Chicago to Frankfurt had to be diverted to Toronto's Pearson International Airport when the pilot spilled coffee on his lap and triggered a hijacking alert. The episode was reminiscent of the 1964 Glenn Ford movie Fate is the Hunter where a coffee mishap caused distress signals to go out, including code 7500 for hijacking.

The Transport Canada report said Canada's defense department had been notified but the flight crew confirmed it was only a communication issue and subsequent navigation issue that prompted the unscheduled landing, and not any unlawful interference.

The Boeing 777 was carrying 241 passengers and 14 crew members. The airline flew the passengers back to Chicago, where they were put up in a hotel overnight. The flight to Germany departed on Tuesday.