In the aftermath of a deadly collision between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington D.C., and the crach of a medical jet outside of Philadelphia, anxiety around air travel has never been higher.
Now, a viral video fight between a flight attendant and a passenger has only made things worse.
The latest incident shows an Alaska Airlines flight attendant repeatedly punching and hitting a screaming man experiencing a “violent medical episode” to free the woman he was attacking during it.
The disturbing video shows the male flight attendant aboard Flight 221 to Portland, Ore., trying to save the female passenger after the man behind her suddenly grabbed her hair before takeoff from Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 1.
“Let go of her hair!” someone can be heard shouting as the flight attendant tries to pry the man’s hands off her hair.
Alaska Airlines Flight 2221 incident Oakland, CA 2/1/2024 ~10:35 am pic.twitter.com/ND7g1YqUVz
— chad_bro_chill_17 (@walterizzle) February 1, 2025
The flight attendant then starts punching the man in the throat and torso until the unruly passenger finally lets go of the frightened woman, who was helped out of the aisle by other flyers.
The Alaska flight attendant then calls on “another capable male” to step up and help him keep the unruly passenger from harming anyone else.
One of the witnesses who uploaded the video to X claimed the out-of-control passenger was “saying weird stuff and rocking back and forth” before the incident.
The plane returned to the gate at the Oakland Airport, with the unruly passenger arrested and taken into police custody.
The flight was then canceled.
Alaska Airlines confirmed that the incident occurred on one of its flights as it commended the flight attendant’s quick actions and banned the suspect from all future flights with the company.