Controversial inflight device: Knee Defender

A flight has been grounded after a customer refused to remove a gadget designed to prevent the seat in front being reclined. United Flight 1462 from Newark to Denver was forced to divert to Chicago's O'Hare airport after a fight broke out between two passengers over one's use of the device.

The 2003 invention of 6'3-tall American Ira Goldman -- "I was tired of being bumped in the knees by reclining seats" -- the Knee Defender is a small pair of plastic clips that attach to your lowered seat-back table, locking the chair in front of you in place so the passenger can't recline.

Controversial inflight device: Should the Knee Defender be banned?

The gadget does not violate any FAA regulations (it can’t be used during taxi, takeoff, and landing, when the tray must be upright), but airlines have the right to forbid its use. United Airlines prohibits the device on its flights, as do all other major U.S. airlines, according to the AP.

Here’s The $22 Gadget That Started A Huge Fight Causing A United Airlines Flight To Get Diverted