Passengers step in to subdue man during flight from MIA to Charlotte

By Samantha Sosa, Patrick Chalvire, Chantal Cook

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    MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Florida (WSVN) — A confrontation broke out aboard an American Airlines flight from Miami to Charlotte when a woman was allegedly assaulted by a man she was traveling with, prompting fellow passengers to intervene.

The incident happened Tuesday after the flight took off from Miami International Airport heading to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Speaking with 7News on Friday, passenger Arjun Singh said the couple, who were seated in the first row of first class, began arguing loudly.

“There was a lot of foul language that was used between one and the another,” he said. “It was very audible, even towards the rear of the cabin.”

Singh saw what was going on and began recording on his phone.

“Then the man stood up, and when he stood up, after everyone had been watching this going down, several men ran to the front of first class and pushed him down to subdue him,” he said, “because they apparently thought he was going to sort of respond physically to this woman.”

Singh’s video shows several male passengers restraining the male passnger as they feared he might attack the woman.

“Dont [expletive] touch her. I don’t give a [expletive],” said a man. “Look at me, don’t [expletive] touch her.”

“Get your hands off of her right now,” said another man.

“You touch her again, you’re going to get arrested,” said an American Airlines flight attendant.

Singh said the men started shouting threats toward the alleged aggressor.

“They were saying, ‘We’re going to [expletive] kill you if you touch this woman,” he said.

At one point, the alleged aggressor said the woman slapped him, but she said that was not the case.

“You slapped me,” said the alleged aggressor.

“I didn’t slap you. I put my hand over your mouth,” said the woman.

Once the plane landed in Charlotte, the flight crew asked passengers to wait in their seats as they waited for law enforcement.

“We were asked to stay in our seats even after the plane reached the gate,” said an American Airlines flight attendant.

Law enforcement boarded the aircraft and escorted both individuals off the flight.

“Anyone want to be a witness?” said a police officer asking passengers on the plane.

American Airlines responded in a statement that reads in part:

“We do not tolerate violence, and we thank our team members for their professionalism in managing a difficult situation.”

It remains unclear whether or not the alleged aggressor and/or the woman were arrested.

7News has reached out to authorities in Charlotte, but as of Friday evening, they have not responded.

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