A Delta Air Lines passenger is accused of assaulting a flight attendant and trying to open a cabin door during a flight from Atlanta to Boston on Sunday.
According to WCVB Boston, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and FBI are investigating the incident after the unidentified man had to be subdued with zip ties for the remainder of the flight.
“I saw the stewardess in first class, it seemed like she jumped back. I learned she had been hit,” passenger Mark French told WCVB. “I stuck my head up and pulled off my headphones, and she was yelling, saying, ‘He’s trying to open the door.'”
According to the witness, a pair of officers with badges stepped in and were eventually able to hold the man down until the flight landed at Boston Logan International Airport, where it was met by law enforcement.
“They were having a hard time subduing him, so I jumped out of my seat. They were both saying, you know, ‘We need a belt. We need something for handcuffs.’ I started yelling at the passengers, ‘I need a belt!’ Another lady in first class gave me her belt,” French added. “Basically the remainder of the flight, he was just screaming, ‘Let me out of here, this isn’t my home.'”
Delta confirmed that the police presence upon the flight’s arrival was “due to a disruptive customer on board.”
Last month, a Ryanair passenger pleaded guilty to several charges after refusing to wear a face mask and drunkenly headbutting a flight attendant on a flight from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, to Manchester, England.
