Passengers Can Fight, Too: Woman Allegedly Attacks Crew Mid-Flight

Although it’s been flight attendants and captains making the headlines lately for disrupting flights with scary and sometimes violent outbursts, let’s not forget that passengers can exhibit wild behavior as well. A woman flying on US Airways yesterday had to be restrained after attacking the flight crew, say cops and airline officials.

NBC-17 in North Carolina happened to have a reporter on vacation who was able to interview passengers and crew coming off the flight from Charlotte in Ft. Myers, Fla.

Witnesses say the woman had expressed fear of flying, and then turned combative when she was refused alcohol. She reportedly “got out of her seat and attacked the crew, kicking them, spitting in their faces, and knocking one flight attendant to the ground.”

The crew said a sheriff’s deputy onboard helped tackle the woman after she attacked the crew. The woman broke an arm rest during the incident, said the report, and assaulted three of the crew in total.

Police and EMS greeted the flight last night, and found the woman still ready to fight although she had been restrained with hand ties in the back of the plane. She’s been charged with Interfering with an Aircraft, and Battery.

Yesterday was a combative day in the air, as a JetBlue captain had to be restrained after reportedly yelling about bombs mid-flight from New York to Las Vegas, prompting an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas. Earlier this month, a flight attendant scared passengers by taking over the PA system to rant about the plane crashing, while they were still taxiing on the runway.

*Thanks for the tip, Joe!

Exclusive: Passenger attacks flight crew on US Airways flight from NC [NBC-17]

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