Officials say a Delta Airlines flight bound for Beijing returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a passenger assaulted a flight attendant.
A Delta Airlines flight bound for Beijing returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a passenger assaulted and injured a flight attendant, officials said.
The 23-year-old man sitting in first class attacked the flight attendant about 45 minutes into Delta Flight 129 on Thursday night Sea-Tac Airport spokesman Perry Cooper said.
Passengers helped restrain him, Cooper said, until the plane landed back at Sea-Tac and Port of Seattle police arrested the man, whose name has not been released.
« The passenger was restrained on board and was removed from the flight by law enforcement without further incident, » Delta said in a statement.
The flight attendant and one other person were injured and taken to a hospital.
Passenger Dustin Jones was seated just behind the curtains that lead to first class, and said he could tell there was a scuffle happening.
« One of the flight attendants ran back and said there was a Code 3, » Jones told KIRO-TV. « There was a serious fight up front. »
Jones said he saw the man handcuffed and zip-tied being rolled into the terminal in a wheelchair after they had landed.
« He started yelling for help, » Jones said. « And so he turned the wheelchair over in the middle of the airport, screaming for people to help him, just being belligerent. »
Airport officials said they conferred with the FBI and the incident is not thought to be a national security threat.
The flight left for Beijing later Thursday night.
Sign up today for a 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.
