An unruly passenger on a Los Angeles-bound United Airlines flight experienced a violent outburst during which he smashed up a plastic tray and repeatedly kicked a seat until other travelers intervened to contain the situation.
The incident took place on United Airlines Flight 502 from Austin, Texas to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 16 with 76 passengers and five crew members on board, the airline said in a statement to USA TODAY Wednesday.
Video recorded by another passenger shows the man standing on a seat and repeatedly kicking the back of a seat and wrecking the plastic tray table.
Gino Galofaro, who captured the incident on camera, told L.A. TV station KABC he and other passengers got together to restrain the man after they saw “the flight attendant walk by and do nothing.”
“I took that video really quick, and I watched the flight attendant walk by and do nothing,” Galofaro told KABC. “Nobody on the plane was doing anything. So, I got up and proceeded to restrain him. Two other bystanders were getting zip ties from the flight attendant.”
“We had to restrain him with zip ties and then seat belt him to the seat,” he added.
Galofaro told online content distributor SWNS the incident occurred when the flight was about 40 minutes from LAX.
Passenger banned from United Airlines
United Airlines, in their statement Wednesday, said “law enforcement met” the flight upon its arrival at LAX “after a customer became disruptive.”
“We thank our crew for helping address the situation and working to ensure the safety of everyone on board,” the statement said.
While the airline did not identify the passenger or specify why they were being disruptive, it said the passenger has been banned from future United flights.
Last month, a man on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport physically attacked a sleeping passenger “without notice.” The alleged instigator, identified as Everett Chad Nelson, is now facing felony charges for punching the sleeping passenger “repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn.”
The victim, who remains unidentified, “sustained bruising on his eyes and a gash on his nose” from the assault, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.