An American Airlines passenger hurled anti-Semitic slurs at a flight attendant before being placed in a headlock and removed from the plane during the chaos, graphic footage and reports show.
The chaos on board American Airlines Flight 2506 bound for Philadelphia broke out Tuesday afternoon before the plane took off from Tampa International Airport.
The rude passenger, wearing a blue and white striped button-down shirt, hurled insults at crew and passengers and accused other passengers of “ganging” as he was removed from the plane (video) Post on social media is shown.
In one instance, he allegedly called another flight attendant who was attending to him a “ke.” Another clip posted online.
“I’m trying to go to my homeland, but you’re making it difficult for me to go to my homeland,” he shouted.
He then bumped into another man wearing a blue pullover in the aisle and asked him to get off.
Another footage showed the confrontation escalated further when an unruly passenger accused him of touching another blue plane.
According to the video, the two men began shoving each other before a man in blue put the rioter in a headlock.
“Now put your hands down and don’t touch anyone,” the man yelled as he pinned his opponent in a headlock.
“I’m a police officer,” a woman wearing a backwards hat approached them, prompting a man in blue to reply, “Me too.”
“Turn around and walk,” the man in blue told the obstructing passenger, keeping his arms restrained.
A woman wearing a hat and another passenger with a tattoo on her sleeve helped escort the unruly man to the exit of the plane, footage showed.
Tampa International Airport Police Department told the Philadelphia Investigator A man was arrested outside the plane at around 5:30pm on Tuesday and charged with disorderly intoxication and two counts of assault.
American Airlines told the newspaper on Thursday that law enforcement was called to the plane due to an “onboard disturbance involving an unwelcome passenger.”
The plane was delayed because of the commotion.
“We would like to thank our team for their professionalism and apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers,” American Airlines said in a statement.
