American Airlines passenger who helped restrain unruly traveler says situation was 'fight or flight'
An unruly air traveler was placed in custody after injuring a crew member and causing disruption on an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Texas.
On Tuesday, the man stormed a flight attendant in an attempt to exit the plane through a cabin door with fellow travelers helping restrain the man with tape, FOX 4 KDFW reported.
The man approached the flight attendant and said he needed "to exit the plane" because he was the "Captain," Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport's incident report, which was obtained by KDFW and shared with Fox News Digital, reads.
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Doug McCright from McKinney, Texas, who was one of the three men who helped restrain the passenger, told KDFW that the verbal altercation took place near the row where he was sitting in the front of the plane.
"I could tell that the conversation was not going very well," he said.
After hearing the flight attendant repeatedly tell the passenger to go back to his seat, McCright stepped in.
"I said, ‘Sir, she wants you to go back to your seat. You need to go back to your seat…He turns and he says, ‘I’m getting off this flight! I want off this flight," McCright said, according to KDFW.
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The man then jumped on top of the flight attendant attempting to access the cabin door when McCright grabbed the man and held him back.
The flight attendant told officials her left wrist and neck were injured, and she was later taken to a hospital for treatment.
Passenger Charlie Boris, along with another traveler, taped the man’s hands and feet while holding him down for the remaining 30 minutes of the flight.
"It was kind of a fight or flight situation," Boris told FOX 4 KDFW.
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Boris added, "everyone just really helped and put together effort, and we all get to go to Thanksgiving."
Not long after the flight landed, around 10 a.m., the FBI and airport police boarded the plane and found one of the passengers still kneeling on the man.
The disruptive passenger was removed from the plane in a wheelchair and was taken for a mental evaluation, KDFW reported.
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"DFW Airport Department of Public Safety police officers responded to arriving American Airlines flight 1915 on Nov. 19 to a report of a disruptive passenger on board," a DFW spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Officers took one person into custody, and the investigation is ongoing."
The restraint tape used was included in an onboard safety kit, according to the airline, FOX Business reported.
Fox News Digital reached out to American Airlines for comment.