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“The man was drunk and was getting loud and aggressive, moving seats," said Grant Saunders, a hypnotist by trade who was headed to Las Vegas. "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,” Saunders said. “[Four] 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," he added (see video below). "The lads got a round of applause as they left."
JetBlue acknowledged the chaos aboard the Tuesday, Jan. 30 flight from Gatwick Airport to JFK. They didn't identify the unruly passenger.
In the video, a woman who apparently was the man's girlfriend begged those holding him down to take their hands off his face.
"I can't just leave him," one of them tells her.
“Ben, Ben, stop fighting them, stop fighting them,” she pleads.
The drunken man tries to break free, prompting one of those holding him back to tell the others: "Take him down."
The quartet gets him into a chokehold and drags him up the aisle toward two cabin crew members as fellow passengers comment on the action.
JetBlue issued a statement:
"On Tuesday, January 30, 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 apologize for the experience. Further inquiries should be directed to law enforcement."
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