Flight Attendant Tackles Drunk Passenger To Ground Mid-Air: Video

A flight attendant was forced to tackle an unruly passenger to the ground mid-air and restrain him with cable ties, video footage shows.

The incident is thought to have occurred on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Islamabad on Sunday morning, according to Amir Mateen, a Pakistani journalist who published the footage online. The man was alleged to have been "drunk" and "extremely violent," Mateen said, quoting a person on board.

Further footage shows the man detained in an airport wheelchair, although the exact whereabouts are unclear.

Newsweek approached Emirates via email for comment on Monday.

In the footage, the man can be seen attempting to headbutt a male member of the flight crew before being pushed to the floor with the assistance of another. A female flight attendant can then be seen passing them a pair of cable ties commonly used by airlines to restrain potentially violent passengers.

Another angle then shows the man on the floor being held down by the two male flight attendants while two female flight attendants appear to restrain his legs with cable ties.

In the second clip, the man sits hunched over in a wheelchair in a sky bridge with his hands tied behind his back while a male flight attendant appears to be attaching his legs to the wheelchair. "Drink some water," a passer-by is heard telling him.

Earlier this month, two men were detained after a fight broke out between them mid-air on a Southwest Airlines flight from California to Hawaii.

In January, onboard footage captured the moment a passenger charged the pilot of an IndiGo flight from New Delhi, India to Goa. His anger was said to be at an extended delay.

In December, a man was seen being detained by the authorities and attempting to punch police officers while being dragged from the plane prior to departure on a Spirit Airlines flight from Barranquilla, Colombia, to Miami, Florida. The airline said in a statement the man had been removed after becoming "unruly" and "aggressive."

Before that, a passenger was reported to have attacked a flight attendant on a flight from Miami to New York, leaving her unconscious in a pool of blood. The alleged assault occurred on the sky bridge and led to the flight being delayed by several hours.

According to the International Air Transport Association, in 2023 there was approximately one incident involving an unruly passenger for every 835 flights, with not complying with flight crew instructions being the most common description.

Update 2/26/24, 4:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include further information.