Original subtitles

[intense music]

- [Narrator] In airplanes and airports,

people are acting up.

- [Narrator] And acting out more than ever.

- [Narrator] In recent years, unruly passenger incidents

have more than doubled,

and all of it is caught on camera.

- [Narrator] So fasten your seat belts.

We're headed for the not so friendly skies.

- [Passenger] What is he doing?

[plane engine roaring]

- [Narrator] The airline industry

has been struggling with the shortage

of flight attendants,

partly because the job has gotten tougher,

and one factor is the uptick in hostile passengers.

Like this one.

[passengers shouting]

After this plane touches down in San Diego,

a passenger begins throwing punches at a flight attendant

who struggles to get out of harm's way.

Then another passenger steps in.

[passengers shouting]

- [Passenger] She came at her first.

- [Narrator] According to court records,

the bloody battle started when the flight attendant

asked the woman to put on her mask,

fasten her seatbelt,

and put up her tray table while taxiing,

standard FAA requirements.

- [Narrator] A criminal complaint

filed against the passenger

said the bruised and bloodied flight attendant

had to have two teeth replaced.

- [Passenger] A child, too.

- [Narrator] Once the combative passenger

was removed from the airplane,

the flight attendant was treated at a nearby hospital.

The passenger pleaded guilty to one count of interfering

with the duties of a flight attendant

and was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

[plane engine roaring]

Air travel is enough of a pressure cooker.

When the conflict in question

involves a baby and a stroller,

emotions are bound to boil over,

and that's exactly what happens here.

- [Narrator] Reportedly,

this woman was trying to store her stroller

and it was taken from her by this flight attendant,

allegedly striking her in the process.

He later claimed it was an accident.

- [Narrator] Passengers saw what happened

and have her back.

- [Narrator] The flight attendant

involved in the exchange returns.

One passenger confronts him directly.

- [Narrator] And the situation escalates.

Yeah.

- Honey, sit down.

- [Narrator] The incident became national news

and the airline issued the mom an apology.

- [Narrator] As for the flight attendant,

he was suspended.

[roaring plane engine]

- [Narrator] In the tight quarters of an airplane cabin...

- [Narrator] Things can escalate pretty quickly.

A flight from Miami to Chicago is delayed at the gate

because of a heated altercation.

- [Narrator] Witnesses say this man

put his hands on a woman sitting next to him

after insulting her and her friend.

Law enforcement has come in to remove him.

- What is it...

Wait, wait, no.

- [Narrator] Shouting from the other passengers

adds to a tense scene.

- [Passenger] Get him off, get him off.

- [All] [chanting] Get him off. Get him off.

Get him off. Get him off. Get him off.

Get him off. Get him off.

- [Narrator] When the man is confused...

- What is the reason?

- [Narrator] Officers try to restrain him.

[passengers shouting]

- Do not fight.

Do not fight, do you understand that?

- [Narrator] But he resists.

- Yeah, no, you listen.

- [Officers] Do you understand me?

- [Narrator] And keeps repeating himself.

- I'm asking you right now because you have to answer.

- [Narrator] So the officers try another strategy.

- What are you, no.

- [Narrator] The officer's decision

will either take the man down

or aggravate the situation even further.

[passenger screams]

- [Officer] Get the (bleep) outta here.

- [Narrator] A plane scheduled to fly from Miami to Chicago

hasn't gotten off the ground because of this man.

- [Passengers] [chanting] Get him off. Get him off.

- [Narrator] He reportedly put his hands

on another passenger

and now officers are trying to remove him from the plane.

- [Officer] Johnson, watch out. Watch out.

Johnson, watch out.

- [Officer] Watch out, Johnson. - Go ahead.

- [Officer] Get the (bleep) outta here.

- [Narrator] But the shock doesn't seem to work.

[taser buzzing]

- [Narrator] The man is reportedly tased 10 times,

yet somehow seems impervious

to the massive voltage.

Until finally, he gives up the fight.

- [Narrator] Passengers are delighted

to see the man hauled away in cuffs.

- [Passengers] Bye, you deserve it.

- [Narrator] Police said the man

later tried to grab an officer's gun

and damage the golf cart used to transport him.

He was charged with multiple offenses

including disorderly conduct

and resisting arrest.

[plane engine roaring]

Flyers are always advised to stay alert

and keep belongings within reach,

because someone else might reach for them.

At Rome's Fiumicino Airport,

travelers are passing through a routine security screening.

The man in a T-shirt places his items,

including envelopes containing $9,000 in cash,

into a security bin,

then continued to the scanner.

As agents ask him to go through security again.

The stranger standing behind him,

this man in the white button down,

places his belongings in a bin.

The man in the T-shirt is then told to move forward

to a different scanner.

On another camera.

The second man arrives at the conveyor belt first,

spotting the envelopes.

He reaches in and grabs them.

Then, without missing a beat,

casually takes his own belt and sweater.

The envelope owner is now through security

and frantically looking for his $9,000,

which was meant to pay for a relative's medical expenses.

Just a few feet away, it appears

the man in the button down walks off,

still carrying the envelopes.

He was arrested by Italian border guards

as he tried to board his flight to Russia.

The envelopes were found stashed in the airport bathroom

and later returned to the victim.

[airplane engine roars]

Trying to open an airplane door

mid-flight is an extremely bad idea.

- [Narrator] After fellow passengers

claim this man tried to do just that,

he's tackled face down by the passengers

and a crew member on his flight to Atlanta.

- [Attendant] I need everyone

to take their seats right now, (indistinct).

We can't get forward with restraints

if everybody's in the aisle.

- [Narrator] Thankfully, no injuries were reported

and the plane was diverted to Oklahoma City.

As for the disruptive passenger,

according to the airline,

the man was actually an off-duty flight attendant

and did not attempt to open a plane door

but made an unauthorized announcement over the PA system,

telling passengers to put on their oxygen masks.

His move toward the PA system may have led some passengers

to think he was heading for the plane door.

He was charged with one count of interference

with flight crew members and attendants.

[airplane engine roars]

Getting stuck on the tarmac

is a typical headache of air travel,

but there's nothing typical about this tarmac delay.

A man is spotted on the runway

at McCarran International in Las Vegas.

And he actually makes it onto the wing

of a parked airplane full of passengers.

- [Passenger] What is going on?

- [Passenger 2] (indistinct) outside.

- [Narrator] The pilot kills the engines

as law enforcement is called in.

- [Narrator] But this incident...

- [Passengers] Is far from over.

- [Narrator] It was just another day

at Las Vegas's McCarran International

until this man rushed the runway.

- [Narrator] And is now on the wing

of a stationary aircraft, taunting passengers.

- [Narrator] Luckily, air marshals

have arrived on the scene.

- [Passenger] Are they just gonna tase him right there?

- [Passenger] What are they gonna do with that taser,

knock him off?

He's gonna fall off.

- [Passengers] Oh, (bleep).

- [Narrator] But before air marshals can reach him...

[passenger gasping] - There he goes.

- [Narrator] The man falls 20 feet

and lands on the concrete tarmac.

- [Passenger] That's what needed to happen.

Honestly, he wasn't coming down

and he was gonna jump.

He's still conscious.

He just has a little cut on his cheek.

- [Narrator] As first responders rush

the man to the hospital,

passengers try to process what just happened.

- [Passenger] Never had anything

like that happen on a plane before.

- [Passenger] I mean, she said

she's been in attendant for 30 years

and has never seen anything like this.

- [Narrator] After suffering minor injuries,

the man was arrested

and later pleaded no contest to a trespassing charge,

serving six months in prison.

[plane engine roaring]

This is the island of Saint Martin,

where air travel madness doesn't necessarily go down

on planes or inside the airport.

This beach is so close to the airport runway,

thrill seekers get their kicks

standing in jet streams of 150 miles per hour,

which are extremely powerful.

This woman seems to be having a lot of fun

until she discovers this impending force.

[plane engine roaring]

As we see that blast again.

Her friend goes first and barely misses the wall,

but then she slams right into it.

She walked away unharmed.

But not everybody has been so lucky.

This improvised attraction has caused its share of injuries

and at least one fatality.

[plane engine roars]

[plane engine roars]

All is quiet on this Florida beach.

And then...

[plane engine roars]

[woman screaming]

- [Narrator] A World War II airplane

makes an emergency landing in the Atlantic Ocean

right in front of hundreds of sunbathers.

- [Narrator] The restored 1940s military aircraft

was flying at a nearby air show,

when it suffered a mechanical failure.

The fast acting pilot was forced

to bring the plane down in the waist deep water,

and he managed to do it without injuring himself

or anyone else.

- [Witness] Oh. [woman screaming]

[plane engine roaring]

- [Narrator] Rushing the cockpit is a move likely

to get any passenger into big trouble,

but a man reportedly tried it aboard this flight to Nashville.

- [Narrator] Fortunately, these passengers were willing

to put the safety of their fellow travelers

before their own.

Together with the cabin crew,

they bind the disruptive man's hands and feet.

- [Narrator] With the disorderly passenger

out of the way,

the plane is diverted to New Mexico

where authorities remove him from the plane

and take him into custody.

According to his attorney,

the man was having an acute mental break.

He was detained,

but later released into a sober living facility.

[plane engine roaring]

Losing your credit card or even your whole wallet

is one of the financial nightmares of travel.

Getting hit with an unexpected expense is another one,

and it can make tempers flare.

Here, a car valet

at John Glenn Columbus International Airport

is having a discussion

with actor, comedian, Faizon Love,

when seemingly out of nowhere...

[dramatic music]

Reportedly, the brutal attack

was over a thousand dollar charge for a car

Love had left in the airport's long-term parking.

The actor claimed the valet mouthed off to him,

threatening to push him around,

and Love reacted.

Now the question is, who will pay the price

for this startling scuffle?

- [Narrator] At John Glenn Columbus International Airport,

actor/comedian Faizon Love

has gotten into a physical altercation

with a parking valet,

reportedly over a bill.

The other valets rush in and try to stop

the "Couples Retreat" star from beating up their colleague.

The valet reportedly walked away

with a cut above his eye,

and Love was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge.

The actor later pleaded no contest,

receiving a 180 day suspended jail sentence

and a $500 fine.

[plane engine roaring]

Nothing unusual seems to be going on

outside this security checkpoint

at Orlando International,

until what sounds like a gunshot

sends the orderly crowd into a panic.

And when a nearby backpack starts to smoke,

travelers scatter in every direction.

TSA officer Ricardo Perez

bravely approaches the smoking bag

and quickly removes it from the crowded area.

It turns out the sound wasn't a gunshot,

but a lithium battery that exploded

inside the backpack, causing the cloud of smoke.

The incidents trigger numerous delays

and nearly two dozen cancellations.

All passengers, even the ones already onboard planes,

had to go through security a second time.

[plane engine roaring]

All is calm at this airport terminal.

Until travelers notice a man on the second floor yelling

and cursing outside an airport bar.

It looks and sounds like a typical argument,

when suddenly...

[crowd screaming]

He drops 30 feet from the balcony

to the ground below.

Shocked travelers hurry to assist

the seriously injured man.

The 32-year-old was allegedly

intoxicated when he took this fall.

[crowd screaming]

He had to be rushed to the hospital.

But luckily, no one else was injured

and the man amazingly survived.

[plane engine roaring]

Sometimes it takes just one person to cause total chaos

for hundreds of travelers.

A plane is taxiing

at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International

and outside the window,

a nearly naked man is on the loose.

- [Narrator] It's unclear why he's on the runway

and stripped down to his boxer briefs.

But airport cameras capture the man

running barefoot across traffic

and hopping a fence onto airport property.

- [Narrator] Passengers on board the flight

watch in disbelief.

- [Narrator] Atlanta Police respond within minutes.

- [Narrator] Police believe the man

may have been under the influence of narcotics.

He was later sentenced to community service

and a fine for one count of second degree criminal damage.

[plane engine roaring]

Once a flight takes off,

it's fair to assume the only potential troublemakers

are among the passengers and crew.

Not in this case.

- [Narrator] Multiple airlines report

seeing the airspace intruder.

- [Narrator] So, the FBI and the FAA

launch an official investigation.

- [Narrator] But he remains unidentified.

[plane engine roaring]