Chaos erupted this week on a Frontier Airlines flight from Denver to Houston, with the man beginning to slap the window and several seats around him, and other passengers in shoelaces and zip ties until the plane lands. urged to suppress the
The struggle, which was captured on video and photos taken by passengers, began about 40 minutes after flight 4,856 on Tuesday night.
The plane reached a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet when the man broke the inside of the window and its plastic frame.
So far, no man whose name has been released by authorities has been charged with a crime. It was not clear what led to his explosion.
The flight passengers said there were no aviators on the flight, so crew members were urged to ask if they had experience in law enforcement or the military.
Heating and air conditioning technician Eric Sterchevic, a native of Katie, Texas, said there was no special training on Saturday, but he couldn't just sit and watch.
He returned with his wife and 13-year-old daughter from a ski trip in Colorado. The family was about 10-15 rows away from the man.
“I heard there was a fuss going on, he's kicking things,” Starsevic said. “Then the next thing you know is he's going to punch out the window.”
Starcevic said it seemed like an unruly passenger had cut his hands and punched the window. Photos taken by Starcevic show blood on the shades of the window and the wall next to the man's seat.
Starcevic, 45, said he and four other men rushed to intervene, explaining a desperate search for something that could be used to tie the man's hands and feet.
“He's trying to kill us all,” Starsevic said he recalled thinking. “Someone was just kneeling him.”
His wife, Jessica, said she stayed in her seat with her daughter. “Someone will give my husband headphones and try to tie him down,” she said.
Starcevic said he and the other man took turns for the remaining two-hour and 16-minute flight, holding the man in place and defending him until he arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Police officers after Starcevic explained it was delayed.
“It really felt like an eternity,” Jessica Starchevic said. The announcements from the pilot were rather routine, telling passengers to fasten their seat belts in anticipation of turbulence.
As of Saturday, the couple said they had not heard from the airline.
Victor Senties, a spokesman for the Houston Police Department, said Saturday that Frontier Airlines had refused to file charges against the man at the time.
Frontier spokesperson Jennifer F. de la Cruz wrote in an email on Saturday that the FBI was investigating.
Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the department's Houston Field Office, said the FBI was working closely with Frontier and the Houston Police Department as part of the investigation. He noted that the FBI has primary jurisdiction in investigating crimes that occur on aircraft.
This episode will be added to the list of famous examples of air rage. In 2021, Frontier Airlines passengers attacked three flight attendants, punched one on a flight from Philadelphia to Miami, exploring the chests of the other two, and in his seat until the plane landed. I pasted the tape.
In 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration said it received 2,102 reports of unruly passengers from the airline, up 1% from 2023. In its unruly airline passenger policy, the agency said the recent increase indicates that it remains a problem.
