A United Airlines Boeing plane turned around midflight and landed in Sydney, Australia on Monday. (Credit: New York Aviation/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)
A United Airlines passenger let out “blood-curdling screams” during a “vicious” attack by another flier on a San Francisco to Washington, D.C. flight this week, a witness says.
The airline tells FOX Business that “Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained after becoming physically aggressive toward another customer” onboard United Flight 2247 on Monday.
“He was just very violently and very aggressively just pummeling the guy who was in the window seat who was in front of me and it was vicious. This wasn’t like a bar room, I’m going to throw a couple of punches around, I mean this was vicious,” Sandhya Gupta told KGO following the incident.
The FBI says the suspect, Everett Nelson, was walking back to his seat after using the plane’s bathroom when he targeted the sleeping victim, according to the station.
UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT MANEUVER TO AVOID ANOTHER PLANE INJURES 2
A United Airlines plane is seen at the gate during sunrise at San Francisco International Airport on Oct. 19. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The next thing I know, I just hear these blood-curdling screams,” Gupta said.
The attack reportedly ended when another passenger intervened.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 80.31 | -0.11 |
-0.14% |
“Basically kind of like wrapped this guy in sort of like a hug and the assailant just, it was the weirdest thing, he just went limp,” Gupta told KGO. “This doctor was just like trying to stop the bleeding, his face was just a mess. It was awful. There was blood spatter on the window… and all that kind of stuff.”
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A United Airlines worker guides a passenger plane into a terminal at the Dulles International Airport on June 17, 2022, in Dulles, Va. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
A United Airlines spokesperson told FOX Business that “The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement.”
There were 82 passengers onboard the aircraft and six crew members. The motive for the alleged assault is unclear.
“United Airlines Flight 2247 safely landed at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after the crew reported a passenger disturbance on Monday, Oct. 28 at 1:40 p.m. local time. The Boeing 737-900 departed San Francisco International Airport. The FAA will investigate,” the Federal Aviation Administration told KGO in a statement.
A United Airlines passenger plane is seen at San Francisco International Airport in July 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The FBI and the FAA did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment from FOX Business.