Passengers on an International flight from Dulles International Airport to Beijing were caught up in the middle of a custody battle turned potential kidnapping situation last night, when the FBI ordered the United Airlines flight to to turn back because a kidnapping suspect was on board with her child.

When the flight hit Canadian air space, the FBI sent the plane back to Dulles, after an American citizen contacted the FBI and said he was worried his son’s mother was taking him to China and wasn’t going to come back, reports CBS News.

At first, the pilot told passengers the plane was turning around due to mechanical problems, one passenger explained, before explaining the custody battle.

“After they left, the pilot came back on and said that he deliberately mislead us, he thought that, in his judgment that it was the best thing to do, given the circumstances of potential abduction that that’s the reason we had diverted,” he said.

The planed landed at Dulles five hours after it took off, and the mother was arrested on attempted kidnapping charges. The boy was returned safely to his father.

United Airlines flight diverted over child custody battle [CBS News]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.