Moment ‘drunk and abusive’ man detained by hero passengers on JetBlue flight

The moment a ‘drunk and abusive’ man was detained by four hero passengers onboard a JetBlue flight has been captured on video.

He was detained by four others on the JetBlue flight from Gatwick Airport after he allegedly got drunk and became abusive to the cabin crew. The drama is believed to have happened on a flight from Gatwick Airport to New York JFK. The men stepped in to help the airline staff – who were seen struggling to get the man to calm down. One could be seen on video footage holding him around the neck to try and restrain him, but he tries to wriggle free.

A woman, thought to be the man’s girlfriend, asked the man holding him to remove his finger from near his eye. She called him Ben and said: “Please get that off of his face.” He replied: “I can’t just leave him.” She adds: “No, no, no listen, don’t tell me to stop.” A fellow flyer tells her: “Move back now.” The woman responds: “Ben, Ben stop fighting them. Stop fighting them.”

As the man attempts to escape from them, one declares: “Right take him down.” The woman can be heard saying: “No” and starts sobbing. The group manage to restrain him and then move him down the plane aisle where two cabin crew members are. One passenger exclaims: “Jesus Christ.” Another passenger appears to try and reassure a child adding: “Don’t worry I’m right here.”

The flight took off from Gatwick at 11:55 am and arrived on time at 3:15 pm on Tuesday (30 Jan). Passenger Grant Saunders, who works as a hypnotist, was on the flight. He said: “The men from the back of the plane came down to assist. They eventually tackled him to the floor. I felt sorry for elderly couples who were sitting around where it was happening. The lads got a round of applause as they left.”

He claimed: “The man was drunk and was getting loud and aggressive, moving seats. Then when the crew asked him to calm down, he started getting worse. Then he started wandering about the aisle, the crew asked him to sit in his seat and he then started getting aggressive.”

Another passenger on the flight, called Nick, said: “They managed to restrain him and prevent the flight from being diverted and causing major disruption to the passengers and crew. Due to their brave and brilliant efforts, the flight landed without further incident. They need to be recognised by the airline.”

In a separate incident reported by The Mirror in 2019 a drunk woman who spat at a young child on board a plane bound for Las Vegas was kicked off and jailed. Valerie Gonzalez had been drinking all day and got upset when she realised she had been seated near a three-year-old. Fellow passengers filmed her expletive-filled rant and caught the disgusting moment she spat at the child in the seat in front of her, before exclaiming: “What did I do?”

Off camera, the little girl’s mother can be heard saying: “Did she just spit on you?” to which the young voice replies: “Yes.” Realising she was being recorded, the 32-year-old got up and tried to leave the JetBlue flight as it sat on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida.

Reports say she hit airline staff as she tried to get back on board the plane and even spat at officers. Police say she told them: “I’m not sitting next to a f*****g three year old, I’ve been drinking all day.”

A spokesman for JetBlue said: “A customer on board flight 1926 with service from London to New York, began acting erratically and aggressively toward his travel companion and members of the inflight crew. The crew also discovered an opened bottle of liquor the customer had brought on board and indications of intoxication. For everyone’s safety, the customer was restrained with the assistance of other customers who were witnessing this threatening behavior.

“The flight landed safely at New York’s JFK Airport where it was met by law enforcement who took over the situation. We appreciate our customers’ assistance and understanding during this incident and apologise for the experience. Further inquiries should be directed to law enforcement.”