A passenger causing trouble on an American Airlines flight, as seen in a widely circulated video, was put in a headlock and removed from the plane, NY Post reported.
Shail Patel’s drunken behavior leads to arrest and charges
This person, identified as 29-year-old Shail Patel from Florida, was reported to have made hateful remarks and threats while intoxicated.
Court documents reveal that Patel shouted derogatory slurs, called other passengers “blue-eyed white devils,” and threatened to bring down the plane with everyone on board.
Patel faced charges of two counts of battery and one count of disorderly intoxication, all classified as misdemeanors. He was held in the Hillsboro County jail on a $2,150 bond as of Friday.
Witnesses reported that Patel, who had bloodshot eyes and smelled strongly of alcohol, also directed profanity at fellow passengers.
He was hostile as soon as he boarded — and “began acting erratically yelling and cursing at the passengers, ” the filing stated.
Patel’s behavior escalated further when he reportedly slapped someone in the hand and face and spat on them. Portions of the incident, which occurred while the flight was still grounded at Tampa International Airport, were recorded on video and shared online.
The footage captured Patel using an antisemitic slur towards a flight attendant and being restrained in a headlock by another passenger.
Videos capture what went down during the flight
In one video clip, Patel, wearing a striped button-down shirt, can be heard using a derogatory term directed at a crew member.
“I’m trying to get to my home country and you all people made it harder for me to get to my home country,” he shouted.
Another video showed a frustrated passenger wearing a blue hoodie and baseball hat intervening by grabbing Patel and placing him in a headlock following a physical altercation.
“Now put your hands down and don’t touch anybody,” the man shouted as he kept Patel in the headlock. “I’m a police officer,” said a woman in a backward hat as she stood near the two men. The man in blue then replied, “So am I.”
“Turn around and walk,” instructed the man in blue to the unruly passenger, while maintaining his hold on Patel’s arms.
The disruption led to a 30-minute delay in the flight as authorities were summoned to address the disruptive traveler.
