Passengers intervene to restrain rampaging traveler on United Airlines flight

A traveler standing up and stomping a seat on a United Airlines flight had to be zip-tied by fellow passengers, as seen in a newly released video.

The incident took place on United flight 502 from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, to Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 16. About 40 minutes before landing, the unnamed passenger began acting out.

“I woke up to him kicking the seat. The flight attendant walked by a couple times, nobody was doing anything. I restrained him and two other passengers were already getting zip ties, so we zip-tied his hands and feet and seat-belted him to the seat,” fellow passenger Gino Galofaro told British news agency SWNS Media Group, which uploaded Mr. Galofaro’s footage to YouTube Tuesday.

There were about 76 passengers and five crewmembers on board. 

Mr. Galofaro, the founder of a southern California substance abuse intervention service, told Los Angeles CBS affiliate KCAL-TV that he has been in contact with his fellow passenger’s family about getting the man medical help for purported methamphetamine use.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to talk to his mother and she reached out to let me know what induced that psychosis, which was meth. … I was able to talk to him today while he was in the hospital and I’m working on getting him into treatment and getting him some help that he needs,” Mr. Galofaro told KCAL-TV.

After the unnamed man was restrained, law enforcement got involved on the ground in Los Angeles and he was arrested.

“On Nov. 16, local law enforcement met United flight 502 upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport after a customer became disruptive. We thank our crew for helping address the situation and working to ensure the safety of everyone on board. We’ve banned this customer from future United flights,” an airline spokesperson told SWNS.