Passengers Get Into Fistfight Aboard Southwest Flight
By Keith Allen and Sonya Hamasaki
BURBANK, CA (CNN) -- Another flight, another fight.
This one happened aboard a Southwest plane shortly after it landed in Burbank, California. It's the latest example of rage erupting on board over any number of issues, from canceled flights to seat disputes to apparent misunderstandings.
Southwest flight 2530 had traveled Sunday from Dallas and was on a short layover at Hollywood Burbank Airport before continuing on to Oakland, California.
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As the plane taxied to the gate, a fistfight broke out between two men, Burbank police said. The altercation worsened as fellow passengers tried to get off the plane at the gate, the airline said.
Cell phone video that surfaced on social media shows two men apparently jostling for position near a row of seats. Then one man forces the other over the backs of the seats in front of them. He then leans over his fallen foe and unleashes a series of punches before fellow passengers rush in to stop the pummeling.
"What is wrong with you?" a female passenger asks, imploring the men to stop, the video shows.
One man suffered minor injuries but could continue on to his destination, Southwest Airlines said in a statement to CNN. The other, a 37-year-old man from Lancaster, California, was detained at the gate, arrested for misdemeanor battery and booked into the Burbank City Jail, Burbank police said.
Southwest Airlines thanked its employees for reacting quickly and preventing the incident from getting worse.
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"Our employees are our everyday heroes and are trained to de-escalate conflict while delivering heartfelt hospitality on nearly 4,000 flights to nearly the half-million customers who fly Southwest every day," the airline said.
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