United Airlines has stopped a prominent security researcher from boarding a flight after the researcher suggested on social media that the airline's onboard systems could be hacked.
Chris Roberts tried to board a United flight from Colorado to San Francisco on Saturday to speak at a major security conference there this week, but he was stopped by airline security at the gate.
Roberts founded One World Labs, which tries to discover security risks before they are exploited.
He had been removed from an earlier United flight on Wednesday by the FBI after landing in Syracuse, New York, and was questioned for four hours after jokingly suggesting on Twitter he could get the oxygen masks on the plane to deploy.
Authorities also seized Roberts' laptop and other electronics.
A lawyer for Roberts said United gave him no detailed explanation as to why he wasn't allowed on the plane, saying the airline would instead be sending Roberts a letter stating why they wouldn't let him fly on their aircraft.
"Given Mr Roberts' claims regarding manipulating aircraft systems, we've decided it's in the best interest of our customers and crew members that he not be allowed to fly United," airline spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said.
"However, we are confident our flight control systems could not be accessed through techniques he described."
Roberts has recently given media interviews in which he discussed airline system vulnerabilities.
"Quite simply put, we can theorise on how to turn the engines off at 35,000 feet and not have any of those damn flashing lights go off in the cockpit," he told Fox News.
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