A man in Florida was forcibly removed from an American Airlines flight and arrested after he turned belligerent and threatened to crash the plane, forcing one passenger to restrain him in a headlock, according to court documents.
Shail Nitin Patel, 29, was taken into custody on March 19 following the unruly episode aboard Flight 2506, which was still gated at Tampa International Airport and preparing to take off for Philadelphia.
He is charged with three misdemeanors, including two counts of first-degree misdemeanor battery and one count of “disorderly intoxication,” which is a second-degree misdemeanor offense.
He was being held at the Hillsborough County Jail in lieu of a $2,150 bond.
Patel, who was identified by his California driver’s license, “began acting erratically yelling and cursing at the passengers” and hurling anti-Semitic slurs as soon as he boarded the plane.
Cellphone video of the episode has since gone viral on social media, showing Patel being put in a headlock by one of the passengers, who was one of several plainclothes officers who moved in to restrain him.
Authorities said Patel was drunk, slurring his speech, and “had bloodshot eyes” while the “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emitting from his breath.”
Video of the episode shows Patel began making threats while moving aggressively through the aircraft, leading to a harrowing confrontation with the passengers and crew.
During the angry outburst, Patel called some passengers “blue-eyed white devils” and threatened to “take this plane down with all you mother f— on it,” court records said.
As the tantrum intensified, Patel allegedly slapped a passenger on the hand and face before spitting on them.
Law enforcement was summoned to the aircraft as the disturbance escalated, and a flight attendant got on the loudspeaker to ask if there were any off-duty police officers on board who could help, leading to the headlock that ultimately ended the episode.
“Now put your hands down and don’t touch anybody!” one of the arresting officers said to Patel while shouting: “Walk! Walk! Turn around and walk!”
The Federal Aviation Administration has reported more than 400 incidents of unruly passengers so far in 2024, compared to more than 2,000 such incidents in all of 2023. Disruptive passengers face hefty fines and possible federal prison time if convicted.
