Five insane airplane incidents that were caught on camera
On Sunday, United Airlines sparked widespread outrage after forcibly removing a passenger from an overbooked flight. Footage from the incident shows security officers ripping the man from his seat, slamming his head against an armrest, and dragging him from the aircraft.
The incident has since sparked backlash on social media, both for the way the security officials conducted the passenger’s removal and for United CEO Oscar Munoz’s subsequent response in a company-wide email, in which he seemed to defend the airline’s actions.
“This situation was unfortunately compounded when one of the passengers we politely asked to deplane refused and it became necessary to contact Chicago Aviation Security Officers to help,” Munoz wrote before explaining that “employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this.”
Munoz has since apologized, and confirmed that the airline is working with the authorities to review the incident and “resolve this situation” with the passenger himself.
The controversy surrounding this incident, however, isn’t likely to die down anytime soon. And while United’s latest debacle involves some unprecdented circumstances, it’s certainly not the first time shocking incidents involving passengers being forcibly removed from planes have been caught on camera.
Here’s five of the most shocking instances in recent memory:
1. Woman dragged off Delta flight for skipping check-in
In December, police at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport were forced to remove a woman from her flight to San Diego, Calif., for failing to comply with proper boarding procedures. According to a witness, the woman didn’t bother to check in with gate agents before boarding the aircraft and later refused to leave. Officers eventually dragged her off of the plane by her wrists.
2. Loud boombox leads to brawl on Spirit Airlines flight
Intoxicated passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight from Baltimore, Md., to Los Angeles sparked an all-out rumble in March 2016. According to a spokesman for Spirit, two intoxicated women were listening to their boom box a little too loudly for a couple of fellow passengers, who asked them to turn down the music. They refused and began taunting their fellow passengers by “holding up their boom box in the air.” Things soon got physical, as three other women approached the intoxicated passengers and began pulling hair and throwing punches.
3. Icelandair passengers duct-tape a man to his seat
In January of 2013, a 46-year-old man was duct-taped to his seat by fellow passengers after he reportedly tried to choke a woman in a drunken rage. Passengers aboard the Icelandair flight from Reykjavik, Iceland, to New York City said the man had also been spitting on people and screaming that the plane was going to crash. The man was taken into custody upon landing, but ultimately wasn’t prosecuted because his fellow passengers never came forward to discuss the incident.
4. Couple arrested for getting “aggressive” on Delta flight
In December, a Delta flight headed for Los Angeles was forced to turn around and return to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in order to boot a woman and her boyfriend. According to a witness, the two reportedly “became aggressive” after the woman tried to use the bathroom during takeoff. Upon landing back at MSP, police tried to escort the couple from the plane, but they when the boyfriend took a swing at a passenger on the way down the aisle, officers were forced to restrain the couple. The couple was later charged with disorderly conduct.
5. Richard Marx helps subdue man on Korean Air flight
Also in December, “Right Here Waiting” singer Richard Marx reportedly helped subdue a violent passenger on a Korea Air flight from Hanoi, Vietnam, to Seoul, South Korea. According to Marx and his wife, TV personality Daisy Fuentes, the man became violent and started attacking the female flight attendants, who were “clueless and not trained” in how to subdue the man. Marx then says he and a few other passengers stepped in to restrain the man, tying him to his seat until the plane touched down in Seoul.