Video shows plane’s flight attendant restrain passenger pulling woman’s hair

OAKLAND, California — A man reportedly having a “violent medical episode” had to be removed from an Alaskan Airlines flight after he grabbed the hair of a female passenger and refused to let go, reports say.

A flight attendant on the plane had to repeatedly punch the man before he let go of the woman’s hair, oregonlive.com reports. The incident, which was shown in a video posted online, occurred on Feb. 1 as Alaska Flight 2221 was getting ready for takeoff from Oakland Airport and bound for Portland, the airline confirmed to oregonlive.com.

After the man let go of the woman’s hair, the flight attendant can be heard asking for “another able-bodied male” to help him restrain the man. The man can be heard yelling unintelligibly as he remains restrained in his seat.

The plane returned to the gate at Oakland Airport and the male passenger was arrested, the New York Post reports. The flight reportedly was canceled.

Alaska Airlines has banned the man from any future flights, oregonlive.com reports.

“He appeared to be experiencing a violent medical episode that involved an ongoing physical assault against other passengers and our crew,” the airliner said in a statement. “Our flight attendants’ highest responsibility is the safety of guests and crew on board. Our crew responded to this chaotic situation quickly and kept all guests safe until law enforcement could intervene.”