A British hero tackled a drunk passenger to the ground and handcuffed him after he began paddling with his sobbing girlfriend and wreaked havoc on a flight to New York City.
The man began yelling and ‘throwing things’ after the argument on a United Airlines flight from Heathrow.
Passenger Bobby Field managed to knock the man down twice during the flight.
Border police later removed him from the plane in front of cheering passengers.
Bobby, 38, was traveling to Newark, New Jersey, with his partner Rebecca Guestford.
Bobby, 38, was traveling to Newark, New Jersey, with his partner Rebecca Guestford. In the photo: Bobby and Rebecca in New York
Border police arrest drunk man on plane
The trip was a gift for his 31st birthday and was Bobby’s first visit to New York.
But on the last leg of the flight on Friday everything descended into chaos.
Bobby, from Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, said negrocampolive who were seated in the center of the plane on the left.
He said they had noticed the couple when they boarded.
Bobby said: “It had been about six hours when the lad started to get a little rowdy and you could tell he had been drinking.” He started grabbing her jacket and throwing things.
He said the girl was so upset that she moved and was seen crying.
The stewardess approached to talk to her, she got up and walked to the back of the plane.
But then things got out of control again.
Bobby said: “He got up from his chair and followed them and you could tell they were saying words – he was getting hot.”
He said the man involved was a “big guy” and was ready to help if needed.
“It was getting louder and louder and you could tell something was happening and the next thing was the flight attendant ran out and grabbed me by the shoulder,” he said. ‘She asked me if she could help, so I got up and walked back.
‘At that point, he had the waiter against the exit door and was trying to attack him. He was saying that he would turn the plane upside down and he was telling her the big news.
“I just walked up to him and said, ‘Look buddy, calm down. “We’re on the air and people are getting upset, just come sit down.”
Bobby said the man turned around and approached him, so he “flipped him over and put him on the ground” so he was face down with his hands behind his back.
An American helped them and they handcuffed the passenger’s hands and legs.
Bobby said he was screaming and they held him in that position telling him to calm down.
He said the girl had become hysterical and they left the man for a few minutes to relax.
They put a pillow under his head and gave him some water but he didn’t want to stop.
Bobby, who works on the roads, said every time the man saw him, he would start screaming again.
They told him that if he calmed down then they would allow him to get up, so they put him on his feet.
But he continued screaming, so they placed him in a chair at the back of the plane.
Bobby said he stayed out of his way because he was the one who had upset him.
He said every time the man saw him, he got angry and “wanted to come after me.”
Border police pulled the man off the plane in Maine in front of cheering passengers after the flight was diverted.
So Bobby stayed out of her way, hoping that would put an end to the situation.
He said staff undid the cable ties from the man’s hands and feet, but then everything started going wrong once again.
“He came back taking the big hit again, so I did the same thing again and smashed him,” Bobby said.
He said he handcuffed him again and told the stewards to keep them on.
They stood up and he was screaming, so he asked his girlfriend to hand him her phone and he started recording them saying ‘you attacked me’.
Bobby said it was useless to try to talk to him because he was drunk and after about 20 minutes they took him away again.
Bobby’s girlfriend filmed part of the fight in the back of the plane.
They told him that since they were still an hour and a half from their destination, if the man calmed down then the flight could continue.
But he continued talking, so the captain made the decision to divert the flight.
Ten minutes later they arrived in Maine and within seconds border police grabbed him by the hands and legs and pulled him off the plane.
Bobby said they were there for about an hour. He gave a statement to the police and then someone from the FBI came to chat with him.
He said the plane refueled and they left again for New York.
Bobby said everyone cheered and clapped when he got off the plane and many people shook his hand.
Despite his impressive intervention, Bobby does not consider himself a hero and the The altercation did not ruin the couple’s trip.
They even ran into some of the passengers in New York who wanted to thank him.
A United Airlines spokesperson said: “United Flight 883 landed in Bangor last Friday morning after two passengers, who appeared intoxicated, caused trouble.” Law enforcement officers removed the two passengers and the flight has since arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport.
“Customers will be barred from future United flights while we review this matter.” Sergeant Jason McAmbley, public information officer for the Bangor Police Department, told PEOPLE: “Two passengers were removed from the plane and CBP and the FBI are leading the investigation.”