Two passengers who got into a fistfight on a Southwest Airlines flight Monday are facing criminal charges of up to $37,000, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The "disruptive" incident occurred onboard SW flight 1288, en route from Oakland to Lihue, Kauai, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson told newsmen.
In a video of the incident, a male passenger stands at a window seat with a woman in the middle seat. He slaps the arm of another male passenger standing in the aisle, saying, "Shut the f*ck up." The other passenger retaliates by punching him several times. A flight attendant and other bystanders break the two men up.
Another passenger on the flight told Hawaii News Now he "heard yelling, screaming and punches. I turned around and saw one man bleeding and then the other man being separated."
"Frankly, I was a little nervous because we’re 35,000 feet, and you’ve got two guys swinging at each other, which makes no sense whatsoever."
The flight crew reported the "passenger disturbance" to the FAA, which will investigate the incident, the agency told media. Unruly passenger on your flight?Here's what to do
As part of the FAA's Reauthorization Bill, unruly passengers can face fines up to $37,000 and be prosecuted on criminal charges.
The flight landed at Lihue Airport at 1:47 p.m. without incident. Kauai Police Department officers responded to the scene to assist Lihue Airport Security but no arrest was made because the incident did not occur under KPD jurisdiction, the police department told
"We commend our crew and customers for their professionalism in defusing this situation. Our number one priority is the safety and well-being of our customers and employees," the airline said.
Earlier this month, on a JetBlue flight, passengers had to help restrain another unruly passenger who behaved "erratically and aggressively" toward his travel companion.
As of Feb. 11, the FAA has received 206 reports of unruly passengers for 2024.
A pilot and his passenger are safe and unhurt after their small plane's engine failed, prompting the aircraft's emergency parachute to deploy
A United Airlines flight from Houston bound for Florida made an emergency landing this week after one of its engines caught fire midair.
The blaze broke out shortly after Flight 1118 took off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 6:40 p.m. Monday.
No injuries were reported, a United spokesperson told USA TODAY Thursday.
The spokesperson said the plane was bound for Southwest Florida International Airport before the fire started.
“United flight 1118 returned to Houston shortly after takeoff due to an engine issue. The flight landed safely, and the passengers deplaned normally," United released in a statement .
The airline said it arranged for a new aircraft that departed for Fort Myers later that night.
A United flight which departed Houston bound for Florida made an emergency landing on March 4, 2024 after one of its engines caught fire on midair. The blaze broke out shortly after Flight 1118 took off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 6:40 p.m.
Video circulating on social media taken by passengers shows flames shooting from the plane's left engine.
"Grateful to be safely on the ground," reads a post from user @jboulah, who reported being on flight 1118.
A United Airlines flight headed to Japan was diverted to Los Angeles after a landing gear tire fell off during takeoff.
Passengers onboard a United Airlines flight that landed at George Bush International Airport in Houston Friday morning had to evacuate the plane when it tilted and "rolled onto the grass" from the taxiway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
A passenger on board United flight 2477, which departed from Memphis, Tennessee, told ABC13 that he heard a "huge pop" when the aircraft tilted on its side with the left wing touching the ground.
"Seems like we were making a turn," he said. "The plane was going a little too fast and just slid off. That's what I took it as."
Passengers had to deplane the Boeing 737 Max 8 using emergency air stairs and were bused to the terminals, the airline told in a statement. No one was injured in the incident.
Richard Levy, an aviation expert with 41 years of experience flying for a major international airline, told that, according to early reports, the pilots were approved for a long landing and to keep their speed up because another aircraft was landing shortly behind them.
The turn onto the exit taxiway was likely too fast, which added stress to the landing gear, which collapsed and probably caused the popping sound people heard.
This type of incident "is very rare," Levy said, adding that the grass was possibly the "saving grace" that prevented any fires if the wing were to scrape the cement.
"We are removing luggage from the aircraft and will work to reunite customers with their belongings as quickly as possible," the airline added. "We are thankful for the actions of our crew to deplane all passengers safely." The airline said the aircraft will be moved from the taxiway as soon as possible.
The FAA told it is investigating the incident.
A United Airlines Flight made an emergency landing in Houston after flames were seen spewing from one of its engines, the airline confirmed.
A United Airlines flight from Houston bound for Florida made an emergency landing this week after one of its engines caught fire midair.
The blaze broke out shortly after Flight 1118 took off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 6:40 p.m. Monday.
No injuries were reported, a United spokesperson told Thursday.
The spokesperson said the plane was bound for Southwest Florida International Airport before the fire started.
“United flight 1118 returned to Houston shortly after takeoff due to an engine issue. The flight landed safely, and the passengers deplaned normally," United released in a statement .
The airline said it arranged for a new aircraft that departed for Fort Myers later that night.
A United flight which departed Houston bound for Florida made an emergency landing on March 4, 2024 after one of its engines caught fire on midair. The blaze broke out shortly after Flight 1118 took off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 6:40 p.m.
Video circulating on social media taken by passengers shows flames shooting from the plane's left engine.
"Grateful to be safely on the ground," reads a post from user @jboulah, who reported being on flight 1118.
“I remember there was just this bright, flashing light that came through the window, and it sounded like a bomb went off, and then it was just a strobe of fire out the window,” David Gruninger, who was on the flight home to Florida with 15 of his friends, told KTRK-TV in Houston.
FlightAware, which tracks plane flight patterns in real time, shows the plane turned around at 6:52 p.m. and landed at the airport it took off from at 7:13 p.m.
“It was a very turbulent ride back, and it was a pretty harsh landing,” Gruninger told the outlet.
According to an email from United provided by a passenger obtained by KTKR, the airline offered passengers a $200 flight credit and a $15 meal voucher.A commercial passenger flight bound for North Carolina was diverted to an island southeast of the Bahamas Wednesday after a woman on board suffered a medical emergency and died, police said.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force reported the commercial flight was heading to Charlotte when a 41-year-old woman fell ill.
An American Airlines flight bound for Charlotte, North Carolina on Feb. 28, 2024, was diverted to an island after a passenger suffered a medical emergency and died, police said.
American Airlines flight 2790 departed from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic before it was diverted to Providenciales International Airport "for the medical needs of a passenger," a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY.
Just before 6:15 p.m., police said, officers received a call from Air Traffic Control Tower requesting medical assistance for the woman who, at the time, was receiving CPR.
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A medical team, along with police units, were dispatched, and the woman was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
An autopsy was slated to be performed to determine the woman's cause of death, authorities said.
