Two men engaged in fisticuffs on an All Nippon Airways flight from Narita, Japan, to Los Angeles before takeoff, and it was all caught on camera.
Photographer Corey Hour, who was a passenger on the plane, posted video of the fight to Twitter. The video shows the beginning of the fight as well as flight attendants' attempts to break up the scuffle, but the reason for the altercation was unclear.
In the video, the man in the red shirt appears to attack the man in a black shirt and reaches over the airliner's seats to make contact. The man in the black shirt can be heard yelling, "Someone help! This guy is crazy!"
One of the men can also be heard saying, "F*** you."
Flight attendants intervened and the man in the red shirt was taken to the front of the plane. But that didn't stop the two men from arguing across the plane.
The man in the black shirt then demanded that the other man be removed from the plane, but the man in the red shirt wasn't done. He returned to the back of the plane to engage once again.
Hour posted a series of tweets about the altercation:
So, 10 minutes before take off a passenger starts a huge fight in his row. I get in between him and flight attendants, but he won't 1v1 me.
— Corey Hour (@CoreyHour) May 1, 2017
He yells, "You think I'm crazy? What about the government!" Then exits the plane. 1.5 hours later and we finally take off. 😴 jfc
— Corey Hour (@CoreyHour) May 1, 2017
For the record ANA staff and passengers handled the situation with grace and respect. They did the best they could to diffuse the situation.
— Corey Hour (@CoreyHour) May 2, 2017
The video ended when I stepped in & confronted the man in the red shirt. I told him to leave and squared up with him, he backed down n left.
— Corey Hour (@CoreyHour) May 2, 2017
As of now and after speaking with the other passengers the motive for why he did this is still UNKNOWN. None of us have any idea why at all.
— Corey Hour (@CoreyHour) May 2, 2017
Authorities told Japan Today that the man in the red shirt was an intoxicated 44-year-old American and was subsequently removed from the plane and arrested. They did not reveal what caused the scuffle to begin with.
Japan Today also reported that the man in the red shirt also hit a female passenger and attacked a male flight attendant.
(Content warning: violence and rough language):