A United Boeing 737-900, registration N69806 performing flight UA-430 from New Orleans,LA to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA) with 172 passengers and 6 crew, was about 20 minutes into the flight when a coffee pot fell off a galley cart and spilled over a passenger causing burns to the passenger. The flight crew declared medical emergency and diverted to Little Rock,AR (USA) for a safe landing. The passenger was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with second degree burns.
On Jun 10th 2020 the NTSB released their final report concluding the probable cause of the accident was:
the improper placement of the coffee pot on the beverage cart and failure to use a safe-pour lid.
The NTSB stated:
The flight attendants (FA) stated that the beverage cart pull out trays were not pulled out for the coffee pots but instead, the metal coffee pot was placed on top of the cart in the center. In addition, the FAs stated that they could not find the safe-pour lids in their provisioning supplies so they had placed a plastic cup in the opening of the coffee pot. At the time of the spill, the cart was positioned near seat row 7, with the brakes set. One FA went to retrieve a meal cart and the other FA had turned their head when suddenly screaming was heard. The passenger got up and went to the lavatory and was subsequently examined by a doctor and a nurse. The doctor informed the crew that a diversion was advised. It could not be determined if the coffee pot tipped over or was grabbed by the young passenger causing the coffee to spill.
United's flight attendant Galley Guide depicts the proper positioning of the beverage cart pull out trays and where to locate the coffee pots. Coffee pots were to be placed on the pull out trays, not in the center of the cart. In addition, the same guidance had several references throughout the document to, "Use the safe-pour lid on coffee pots anytime they are brought into the aisle."