Disruptive Passenger Handcuffed to Wheelchair, Removed From Plane

An American Airlines flight was delayed Monday after a disruptive passenger had to be handcuffed to a wheelchair and removed from the plane for refusing to get out of a seat that wasn’t his.

According to airlines-flight/287-0b97357e-61b0-4c83-95dd-05a5ba5ffb8b” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>WFAA.com, American Flight 2460 was preparing to take off from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport en route to Los Angeles International Airport when the incident occurred.

A passenger on the plane named John Gilbert reported a man was not happy with his seat assignment and decided to sit right behind First Class in the window seat. When the person who purchased the seat arrived, the unidentified man refused to relinquish it.

Gilbert began filming the standoff, which included the disruptive passenger yelling at flight attendants, “Don’t force me. Don’t violate my freedom. That’s my seat. You don’t like it. Switch it.”

After the man continued to refuse pleas to change seats, flight attendants were forced to remove the other passengers from the plane and call the police. Four officers then entered the aircraft and returned a short time later with the man handcuffed to a wheelchair.

Local authorities have not said if the man has been charged with a crime, but the flight was delayed 45 minutes before taking off for LAX.