Pilot Attacked by Passenger Over Flight Delay

A viral video captured the moment an irate plane passenger charged down the aisle to attack the pilot, who was in the middle of making an announcement about a delay.

The incident happened on an IndiGo aircraft on Sunday, as it was held at New Delhi Airport, India, bound for the city of Goa.

Violence in the skies—either against crew members or between passengers—has increasingly hit the headlines in recent years as footage filmed by other flyers is often posted online. Violence is an "ongoing problem and airlines have seen rapid growth in occurrences since 2021," according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. One study suggested the increasing rate of passenger misconduct on planes is mainly caused by alcohol consumption.

In the latest incident, which was apparently caught on camera by another passenger, the co-pilot is shown making an announcement over a tannoy at the front of the plane, which was flying under the number 6E 2175, according to Indian newspaper The Tribune.

Suddenly, a man wearing a bright yellow hoodie runs down the gangway and strikes the co-pilot in the face as other flyers gasp in alarm and a flight attendant begins screaming.

A video shared on social media site X (formerly called Twitter) by an account named Breaking Aviation News & Videos had been viewed more than 137,000 times by the early hours of Monday. "The pilot had replaced the previous crew due to Flight Duty Time Limitations after several hours of delay," the account posted as it explained what had sparked the violence.

The passenger accused of assault was named in official documents as Sahil Kataria, The Tribune reported, while the co-pilot was identified as Anup Kumar. The Indian capital had been crippled by thick fog on Sunday, which had grounded planes and also made road and railway travel almost impossible.

The 30-second video clip begins as a dispute is already underway on the plane as annoyed passengers are calling out. Kumar, who appears to have paused his announcement to listen to their complaints, had reportedly just explained why their flight was due to be delayed further.

"You're lying," a man calls out in English.

The suspect then runs towards Kumar and lunges forward to strike him. The pilot rears backwards to try to protect himself and the flight attendant tries to use a trolley to block the man's path and prevent a further attack. Another passenger then comes forward and tries to pull the aggressor away. The visibly upset flight attendant screams in English at the suspect: "You cannot do this!"

The man could also be heard screaming in his own language at one point, and The Hindustan Times reported that he was shouting at the pilot: "If you don't want to fly the plane, then don't, just say so!"

Delhi Police are now investigating the incident, while IndiGo, a low-cost Indian carrier, is planning to add the suspect to the airline's "no-fly list," according to reports.

Newsweek has reached out to IndiGo by email seeking further information and comment.

The incident is just the latest in a string of similar attacks on airline staff.

Back in November, a passenger on a Russian flight threatened to blow up the plane unless he was given more vodka. While that same month, a passenger attacked an American Airlines crew member, leaving her unconscious in a pool of blood after he was asked to leave his plane at Miami International Airport.