One of the passengers on the American Airlines plane at an altitude of 9,144 meters stated that he “must leave the plane now.” He injured the stewardess in the neck and wrist. A group of passengers overpowered him and bound him with adhesive tape. The man was arrested at the Dallas airport.
According to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety documents cited by CNN, one of the passengers told a flight attendant that he “must leave the plane now.” The incident occurred on Tuesday.
During the dispute, he injured her neck and wrist. The stewardess then asked the travelers for help. They used adhesive tape to incapacitate the attacker. They wrapped his wrists, knees and ankles.
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“At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, FBI and Department of Public Safety agents boarded the plane, detained the passenger and took him for a psychiatric evaluation,” the Department of Public Safety report said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident.
Statistics cited by CNN show that incidents with insubordinate passengers reached a record high in 2021, when almost 6,000 were reported. Later, the number dropped significantly, but in 2023 it exceeded 2,000.
According to the FAA, more than 400 enforcement actions were initiated in 2023 and fines of violators totaled $7.5 million.
CNN reminds that in October, a man was accused of unprovoked beating another passenger on board United Airlines. In September, a passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight tried to choke a flight attendant and threatened to “kill everyone on board.”
Main photo source: Markus Mainka / Adobe Stock