A passenger aboard a Frontier Airlines flight to Houston had a violent outburst on Wednesday after being asked to move, punching and kicking in his seat until he cracked one layer of the plane’s window mid-flight.
Houston police said they were notified there was a “combative passenger on board” flight F9 4856 out of Denver, but declined to name the man because the airline has thus far reportedly declined to press charges.
Officers met the plane at the gate and were seen taking a restrained man away in a wheelchair.
The incident began when someone asked the man to move seats, passenger Victoria Clark told a Houston ABC station.
“The lady in front of the gentlemen asked to move seats, and right when she did, he started kicking profusely and started punching the window,” Clark said.
“He was scary,” she added.
There were no police or air marshals on the plane, passengers said, so travelers including a military veteran leapt in to detain the man, using zip ties and shoe laces.
“Hearing the stewardess walk down the aisles screaming, ‘Does anybody have a belt? Does anybody have shoe string, was absolutely terrifying,’” passenger Chloe Starcevic told Good Morning America.
Passengers photographed a broken window with nearby blood stains on the flight.
The FBI is involved in investigating the incident, KHOU reports.
The incident comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of safety conditions in the U.S. aviation system.
Last week, an American Airlines regional jet collided midair with a U.S. Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, killing 67 people.
Just days later, a medical jet carrying a girl who traveled to the U.S. for medical treatment crashed shortly after taking off from Philadelphia, landing in a busy residential area.
Meanwhile, in Seattle, a Japan Airlines jet hit a Delta plane as the aircraft were taxiing on the runway.
Federal officials are investigating all three accidents.
