The attack is now being investigated by the FBI and FAA.
"The next thing I know, I just hear these blood-curdling screams."
UPDATE: New questions raised after deaf man attacked while sleeping on United flight out of SFO
Sandhya Gupta is describing the moment she woke up two hours into her United Airlines flight from SFO to Washington Dulles Airport on Monday.
In the row in front of her, she could see one passenger attacking another.
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"He was just very violently and very aggressively just pummeling the guy who was in the window seat who was in front of me and it was vicious. This wasn't like a bar room, I'm going to throw a couple of punches around, I mean this was vicious," said Gupta.
The FBI says the suspect, Everett Chad Nelson, had just gone to the bathroom and was walking back to his seat when he attacked the victim, who was sound asleep, in a random row that was not his.
Another passenger jumped in to help.
"Basically kind of like wrapped this guy in sort of like a hug and the assailant just, it was the weirdest thing, he just went limp. This doctor was just like trying to stop the bleeding, his face was just a mess. It was awful. There was blood spatter on the window shape and all that kind of stuff," said Gupta.
It was then that Gupta says they learned that the victim couldn't hear or speak.
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"When he was trying to communicate with us in sign language that's when we realized he was deaf and non-verbal," he said.
That victim was communicating with the United flight crew by phone messages, according to Gupta.
"He also just kept texting, 'I'm so scared.' Like it was just awful," he said.
Gupta says some of those texts were from flight attendants who said that the suspect had claimed the victim attacked him in the street earlier but the victim wrote that he had never seen the man before in his life.
The suspect was arrested shortly after the plane landed at Dulles and is still in jail at last check.
MORE: 'I'm taking over this plane': Passenger tackled after allegedly trying to stab flight attendant
The victim, who was being treated by the doctor on board, was okay but physically and mentally shaken over what happened.
United Airlines issued this statement:
"Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained after becoming physically aggressive toward another customer on a flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles on Monday. The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement."
The FAA issued this statement:
"United Airlines Flight 2247 safely landed at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after the crew reported a passenger disturbance on Monday, Oct. 28 at 1:40 p.m. local time. The Boeing 737-900 departed San Francisco International Airport. The FAA will investigate. Please contact the airline and local authorities for additional information."
Background:
The rate of unruly passenger incidents has dropped by over 80% since record-highs in early 2021, but unacceptable behavior continues to occur. Airlines have reported more than 1,240 unruly passenger cases in 2024.
The FAA pursues legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crewmembers, and can propose civil penalties up to $37,000 per violation. Detailed current data on these incidents is available on ourunruly passenger website.