The passenger reportedly became enraged when he wasn’t allowed to use the bathroom in first class. Inside Edition spoke to two other passengers about what it was like to witness the shocking incident.
An unruly passenger was captured on camera punching a flight attendant in the head.
The violence erupted 20 minutes into a flight from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to Los Angeles. The passenger reportedly became enraged when he wasn’t allowed to use the bathroom in first class.
Video shows the flight attendant asking, “Are you threatening me?” As the flight attendant walked toward the front of the plane, the passenger lunged forward and threw a shocking punch right into the back of his head.
Fellow passenger Barrie Livingstone recorded the outburst.
“It was horrible to see. The first thing you thought was the pain that this man was going through, but then realizing as he turned around, he could come for any one of us that were sitting there,” Livingstone said.
After the incident, at least three passengers jumped in to subdue the unruly man.
“I told the guy behind me, I said ‘Hey, we gotta go take care of this.’ So I took the restraints, went back there and we told him, ‘Hey, we’re putting these on you one way or another,’” passenger Donald Kevin Hoover said.
Passengers and a flight attendant placed zip ties around the man’s wrists. Another flight attendant stood by with duct tape, just in case.
Reports of violence in the air have seen a decline in recent months following last year's surge, including an incident in which a female passenger punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant and broke her front teeth.
“It’s really crazy that something could happen at any moment, and I think people just need to be aware not to let your guard down,” Livingstone said.
The passenger was taken into custody upon landing and was charged with interfering with a flight crew member.
