Moment ‘drunk and abusive’ man is detained by four hero passengers after he kicks off on JetBlue flight from Gatwick Airport to New York JFK
This is the moment a ‘drunk and abusive’ man is held down by four passengers on board an eight-hour flight.
The incident happened on January 30 during a JetBlue flight from Gatwick Airport to New York JFK.
The video showed a group of Britons, who intervened to help airline staff calm the man, struggling to restrain him.
Someone could be seen holding him in a headlock, but the suspected drunken passenger managed to break free.
A woman, wearing gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt, asked the passenger holding him to move his finger from the man’s eye.
She said, “Please get that off his face,” to which he replied, “I can’t just leave him.”
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The video showed a group of Britons, who intervened to help airline staff calm the man (circled), and struggled to restrain him
The group managed to restrain him and moved him down the aisle of the plane towards two cabin crew members
The incident happened on January 30 during a JetBlue flight from Gatwick Airport to New York JFK
She adds, “No, no, no, don’t listen, don’t tell me to stop.” A fellow pilot told the woman to “go back now.”
Then she said, ‘Ben, Ben, stop fighting. Stop fighting them while the four hero customers try to stop him.
The video showed the group standing in the narrow aisle as they bumped into seats, while other passengers recorded the footage on their mobile phones.
As the man tried to escape, someone said, “Take him down.” The woman said, “No,” and then began to sob.
The group managed to restrain him and moved him down the aisle of the plane towards two cabin crew members.
One passenger said: ‘Jesus Christ,’ while another exclaimed: ‘What the f***.’
Another man tried to reassure someone and said, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
Witness Grant Saunders, who works as a hypnotist, was on the flight and said: ‘The guys at the back of the plane came down to help.
‘Eventually they knocked him to the ground. I felt sorry for the older couples sitting where it happened.
The boys received a round of applause as they left.’
Mr Saunders claimed the man ‘was drunk and became loud and aggressive’ as he moved around in other seats on the flight.
“When the crew asked him to calm down, things started to get worse,” he continued.
Witness Grant Saunders told the man that things were “starting to get worse” when the crew told the man (circled) to calm down
Someone could be seen holding him in a headlock, but the suspected drunken passenger managed to break free
The clip then showed the group standing in the narrow aisle as they bumped into seats, while other passengers recorded the footage on their mobile phones.
“Then he started wandering down the aisle, the crew asked him to sit in his seat and that’s when he started getting aggressive.”
The flight departed Gatwick at 11.55am and arrived on time at 8.16pm GMT on Tuesday.
Another passenger called Nick said: ‘They managed to restrain him and prevent the flight from being diverted and causing major disruption to the passengers and crew.
“Thanks to their courageous and brilliant efforts, the flight landed without further incident.
“They need to be recognized by the airline.”
JetBlue told MailOnline that the crew discovered an open bottle of liquor that the customer had brought on board.
They confirmed the man was restrained and police dealt with him when they landed in New York.
“We appreciate our customers’ assistance and understanding during this incident and apologize for the experience,” they said.