Chaos erupted on a Southwest flight in Dallas after a passenger repeatedly punched a man during an assault captured in a viral video, officials confirmed Wednesday.
In the most recently reported incident of unruly passenger behavior, travelers to Phoenix were boarding Flight 117 at Love Field Airport when a man with a blazer stood over another man and began beating him, video footage showed.
“Before you know it he starts hitting the guy,” another passenger Caitlin Johnson told CNN on Wednesday.
Other passengers eventually jumped in to help de-escalate the situation, Johnson told the outlet.
Johnson, who taped the melee on Monday, said minutes earlier in the gate area, the man who was allegedly accidentally punched bumped into the wife of his eventual attacker.
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Video shows a man beating a fellow passenger
In the video, the man in the blazer can be seen holding the other passenger in a headlock and shouting obscenities as passengers try to intervene.
“Guys stop it,” says a passenger. “Get off him” and “let go,” another person shouts.
Once the passengers managed to separate the two men, the man waves the blower at the other man, the video shows.
After the altercation, video shows the man in the blazer telling passengers that the person he attacked was aggressively approaching his family.
“Tell them what you did,” says the man in the blazer in the video. “I’m going to jail for approaching my family.”
Both men eventually exited the plane before takeoff, she said.
Airline: Flight departed on time
Southwest Airlines officials told the US TODAY Wednesday that the flight arrived on time and on schedule.
“We commend our crew for managing the situation like safety professionals while also ensuring the comfort of the other passengers in the cabin,” airline officials said.
They did not comment on the incident or say whether any arrests had been made in connection with the attack.
The attack came a day after a man aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston allegedly tried to open an airplane’s emergency exit and then attempted to stab a flight attendant.
Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was charged with interfering and attempting to interfere with crew members and using a dangerous weapon, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office said Monday.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fight on Southwest flight at Dallas Love Field Airport, video shows
