The incident happened onboard Alaskan Airlines flight 2221, which was preparing to depart Oakland International Airport (OAK) for Portland International Airport (PDX).
The Embraer E175 regional jet was nearing takeoff when the incident occurred, forcing the jet to return to the gate and the flight to be canceled. The following X post is not pleasant, so you have been warned:
According to the Daily Mail, a passenger on the flight said it was canceled after a flight attendant refused to fly and could not be replaced. It is unclear what sparked the man's behavior, but the female passenger was able to leave her seat and walk away unaided, but no doubt very shaken by what had happened. Alaska Airlines provided the following statement:
"On Feb. 1, Alaska Airlines Flight 2221, operated by Horizon Air, from Oakland to Portland returned to the gate before departure due to an incident involving a passenger.
He appeared to be experiencing a violent medical episode that involved an ongoing physical assault against other passengers and our crew.
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.
At this time, the guest in question has been banned from Alaska and Horizon due to the nature of the physical assault."
The aircraft involved in the drama was a 2018 Embraer E175, registration N637QX and MSN 17000755, which later departed Oakland at 14:03 as flight AS9993.
The Embraer jet landed in Portland at 15:28 and then operated a return service from Portland to Bozeman (BZN).
The aircraft involved is operated by Horizon Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group, which operates flights on behalf of Alaska Airlines.
According to ch-aviation, Horizon Air has a fleet of 44 E175s and the operating aircraft had its first flight in September 2018 before being delivered to Horizon Air in October 2018.
It is configured in a three-class layout of 76 seats, including 12 seats in business class, 12 in economy plus and 52 in economy.
The US Federal Aviation Administration pays serious attention to the issue of unruly passengers and investigates unruly passenger incidents that airline crews report to the agency.
The data below reflects all cases the FAA investigated that cited violations of one or more FAA regulations or federal laws.
The rate of unruly passenger incidents steadily dropped by over 80% since record highs in early 2021, but recent increases show the issue is not going away.
It is interesting but unsurprising that the peak outburst occurred during the depths of the C.O.V.I.D.-.1.9 pandemic, with cabin crew bearing the brunt of the behavior.
