A routine American Airlines flight transformed into a mid-air nightmare after a passenger unexpectedly turned violent. Cabin crew and nearby travellers were forced to intervene when a medical crisis rapidly escalated into a physical assault.
The aircraft was met by emergency teams immediately upon landing, leaving those on board shaken by the claustrophobic ordeal.
During the final moments of anAmerican Airlinesjourney to Philadelphia on Sunday, a major disruption erupted when a passenger reportedly bit a fellow traveller and attempted to assault others on board.
The flight, which had departed from Charlotte, North Carolina, became the subject of an urgent radio transmission from the cockpit. According to air traffic control recordings, the pilot contacted ground officials ahead of arrival to ensure police and medical personnel were waiting at the aircraft as a precaution.
As the aircraft neared Philadelphia International Airport, the situation in the cabin rapidly deteriorated. Air traffic control recordings reveal thepilotalerting ground control to a passenger who had grown increasingly aggressive towards those around him.
You probably shouldn’t bite other passengerspic.twitter.com/zBfnW9KhGf
'I don't know ... if he's hallucinating or whatever, but he just bit a passenger and he's trying to fight everybody. What a day, huh.'
Confronted with the escalating crisis, the pilot requested that paramedics and law enforcement officers stand by for the aircraft's arrival. American Airlines later said the passenger's behaviour stemmed from a medical emergency. According to the carrier, a medical professional travelling on the flight intervened to assist the individual before the aircraft landed safely.
The carrier further confirmed that medical teams were waiting to attend to the passenger upon arrival. American Airlines declined to clarify, however, whether law enforcement officers were also present at the gate when the aircraft arrived. According to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware, the aircraft touched down in Philadelphia shortly before 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
The disruption in Philadelphia follows a spate of mid-air incidents reported across commercial aviation in recent weeks.
Source: International Business Times UK
