A United Airlines flight from San Francisco International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport left passengers frightened when one of the travelers assaulted a deaf, nonverbal man who was asleep on the aircraft on Monday.
Sandhya Gupta, a witness to the incident, said the attacker was wearing a neon green jacket and started attacking the man seated in front of Gupta two hours into the non-stop flight.
According to an FBI affidavit, passenger Everett Nelson had just left the lavatory when he physically attacked a sleeping male passenger, punching him repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn.
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"I could see blood flying when he was getting hit," Gupta said. "My first thought was I just wondered if the attacker had some kind of object because I didn't know you could inflict that type of damage with your bare hands."
Gupta added that it wasn't till another passenger restrained the attacker that she and another woman went to help the victim.
The victim, who is also deaf and nonverbal, sustained gashes on his face, a black eye, and bruises, according to Gupta.
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Flight crews then took the attacker to the front of the plane, and instead of restraining him, a crew member watched over him.
Gupta said the decision left many onboard on edge.
"[The victim] felt unsafe that his assailant was a couple of rows ahead of him, and he kept writing and showing us. I'm scared, and I feel unsafe," Gupta said.
Aviation expert Mike Mccaron said the crew's handling of the incident is puzzling because the standard protocol is to restrain the suspect—usually in plastic cuffs—and find a nearby airport to land.
The United flight instead flew the remaining three hours to Dulles.
"The normal thing is you want to get on the ground as quickly as possible first to get treatment first aid to the person who was attacked and secondly, get the individual off the airplane and in the custody of law enforcement," McCarron said.
In a statement, United said, "Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained after becoming physically aggressive towards another customer. The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement."
Gupta said the crew seemed equipped on how to handle the situation or how to assist a traumatized and injured passenger with a hearing disability,
"It shouldn't happen; it just shouldn't happen to anyone," she said.
