Things escalated shortly after take-off when several passengers noticed strange behavior from the individual, who appeared to be having a “fit of epilepsy” and was “stomping, incoherent yelling, and shaking. ” A flight attendant approached the passenger only to be kicked in the chest. The man then started kicking and punching the seat in front of him, causing it to collapse after the occupant moved away.
The situation deteriorated further inside the cabin, leading pilots to decide it was best to divert the plane back to Savannah. Upon landing, the unruly passenger rushed towards the exit door and threw punches at another flight attendant before being subdued by other passengers.
When questioned along with his sister, they said they were traveling to Haiti “to flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature.” The affidavit notes that she reported her brother had “swallowed the rosary beads because they are a weapon of strength in spiritual warfare.”
This incident marks the second occurrence within days on an American Eagle flight. On March 5, another passenger aboard a flight from Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) bound for Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) became violent without apparent reason shortly before landing.
Reports of abusive or physically violent passengers are increasing. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines a disruptive passenger as: "A passenger who fails to respect the rules of conduct at an airport or on board an aircraft or to follow instructions of airport staff or crew members and thereby disturbs good order and discipline."
Actions can be deemed unacceptable for various reasons including verbal or physical confrontation with cabin crew members or fellow passengers, threatening aircraft safety or people onboard, sexually abusing someone on- board, refusing compliance with safety instructions among others.
The pandemic saw a spike in such instances due to heightened stress levels but this behavior is seemingly becoming more common post-pandemic.
It’s challenging pinpointing exact causes behind rising unruly behaviors; factors like long queues at airports anxiety about flying intoxication drug use etc., might contribute towards erratic conduct during flights.
Fortunately cabin cockpit crews are trained handling such cases usually defusing situations mid-air resulting diversions if necessary.
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