US Passenger Punches Flight Attendant, Tries To Jump Out Of Emergency Exit

An angry passenger on a United Airlines flight had to be restrained by other passengers after he allegedly punched a flight attendant multiple times, according to ABC7. The incident took place on May 1 and the man even tried to jump out of the emergency exit during a flight from San Francisco to Houston, the outlet further said. A video of the fight was taken by Naya Jimenez shortly before the plane took off from San Francisco International Airport. It was bound for Houston, Texas.

Ms Jimenez claimed that the man became violent after she asked him and his wife to move out of her assigned seat.

"They had to bring in a gate attendant to try to talk to both of them," she told ABC7. "Then, he began slurring his speech a little bit, like, 'Sir, why are you smiling at me?' That's the first thing he said," Ms Jimenez added.

After the altercation, the man then rushed to jump out of the plane, she claimed.

"After he paused for a minute, he ran toward where the pilot was, where the emergency exit doors are, and attempted to open it. He successfully opened the emergency exit and was about to jump down," said Mr Jimenez.

"The plane was elevated, so he would have jumped apparently two stories to the ground, and the flight attendants just kicked in, and everybody pulled him back to safety," the co-passenger added.

Watch the video:

The airline called the passenger's behaviour "unacceptable" and said he has been banned from future United Airlines flights.

"We're grateful to our team for their professionalism and for looking out for the safety of our customers and their fellow United employees," a spokesperson of the airline told Independent.

It reported that a 47-year-old man was arrested by San Francisco police on battery charges related to this incident.