Berserk boarding in Brazil left five men with duct tape struggling to restrain a passenger during a Miami-bound meltdown that included desperate cries for “Help!”
“They’re killing me!”
(Video: WPLG)
Cellphone footage taken aboard an American Airlines flight boarding late Friday at Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil captured the troubling scene as an as yet unidentified man required four passengers and a crew member to restrain him.
The 10 p.m. overnight flight 9948 bound for Miami International Airport had yet to depart when the group of five men found themselves pinning the unruly passenger down in what appeared to be the airplane’s galley as WPLG reported him screaming for “help” in Spanish while claiming, “They’re killing me!”
In the video obtained by the news outlet, the passengers who endeavored to calm the man down by telling him to “hold my hand” and to “breathe” could be seen pinning the man’s limbs. At one point, a woman that looked to be a flight attendant could be seen peeling off a strip of duct tape and handing it to one of the men straddling the manic passenger who could be seen straining to keep the tape away from covering his mouth.
Eventually, security had arrived to take over for the helpful passengers and, despite the incident, FlightAware indicated that the American Airlines flight had landed in Florida 13 minutes ahead of schedule.
“That is very nerve-racking, that’s crazy that happens you know,” a passenger at Miami International Airport making the opposite trip told WPLG in reaction to the incident.
“I think some people have got trouble before they get on the flight, and then, you know, they kinda carry it with them and some of them can’t handle their emotions I guess,” remarked traveler Petri Teasdale to the outlet.
After spiking in 2021 at 5,973, after a down year of only 1,009 when lockdowns limited travel, 2022 saw a sizable decrease in unruly passengers by 59% to 2,455 according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Likewise, compared to 2021, 2023 marked an 80% decrease with only 1,987 recorded unruly passengers by the FAA.
In a similar incident, 9News reported that an unruly passenger on a Qantas flight from Denpasar, Bali to Melbourne, Australia was forcibly restrained mid-air on the four-hour trip after he had been heard threatening others, “If you don’t get away from me, I will f*ck you.”
“I’ll call my mum and dad! Where’s my mum and dad!? Get the f*ck away from me,” he was heard saying as he lashed out at others before being taken down by five passengers.
A man has been restrained by passengers on board a Qantas plane flying into Melbourne from Bali.
The 28-year-old was pinned down on the cabin floor for hours after he began yelling and lashing out at flight attendants. @ajhegarty9 #9News pic.twitter.com/29uL6P3VBE
— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) December 31, 2023
As for the man escorted off the flight in Rio de Janeiro, the cause of the meltdown remained unreported and WPLG indicated that, as of Sunday morning, no arrests had been made.
- DOGE discovers $1.9B in tax dollars ‘misplaced’ by Biden regime - February 15, 2025
- Alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer issues first public statement – to fans - February 15, 2025
- Psaki acknowledges Dem failures: ‘Now is the time to break some sh*t’ - February 15, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.