Man On Alaska Airlines Has A Psychotic Episode, Grabs Woman's Hair And Refuses To Let Go, Flight Attendant Throat Punches Him

An Alaska Airlines flight attendant was forced to repeatedly strike a passenger in the throat after that passenger grabbed his seatmate by her hair and refused to let go. I commend this flight attendant for bravery and quick thinking.

Alaska Airlines flight 2221 from Oakland, California (OAK) to Portland, Oregon (PDX) was preparing for takeoff when a kerfuffle occurred in the cabin. A male passenger was spouting off some “weird” things and began rocking his head violently, eventually striking it against the seat in front of him and reportedly briefly losing consciousness.

When he awoke, he reached over and grabbed the hair of the woman sitting a row in front of him and refused to let go. A flight attendant came over and when the man refused to let go of the woman’s hair, the flight attendant began striking him in the throat (a common law enforcement tactic targeting the brachial plexus nerve) until he finally let go.

The aircraft, an Embraer E175, returned to the gate and the man was removed from the flight (though the flight ultimately cancelled).