Man Bites Fellow Passenger, Attacks Others On LAX-Bound Flight: TSA

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Delta Air Lines flight landed at Los Angeles International Airport Monday with several battered passengers after a man bit a fellow passenger and assaulted several others, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The passenger had to be restrained, and he and at least one other passenger were taken to hospitals in Los Angeles, Monday night after the plane landed safely.

"Delta Air Lines Flight 501 landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport around 5:20 p.m. local time on Monday, March 17, after the crew reported a passenger disturbance," the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday. "The FAA will investigate."

According to Transportation Security Administration spokesman David Fitz, the man assaulted several other passengers on the Delta flight heading from Atlanta to Los Angeles Monday evening.
It was unclear what motivated the attack, and an investigation into the assault continued Tuesday evening.

The man suspected of assaulting other passengers was taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation.

“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior and will work with law enforcement authorities,” Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Samantha Moore Facteau told CNN.

The rate of unruly passenger incidents peaked in 2021 and has dropped by over 80 percent since record-highs in early 2021, but unacceptable behavior continues to occur, according to the FAA.

Airlines 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," the FAA announced in a written statement.

In recent incidents referred for investigation, an unruly passenger tried to breach the cockpit, another tried to breach aircraft doors, and another threatened to harm everyone on board and crash the aircraft. Passengers assaulted or threatened flight crews, and frequently, passengers sexually assault other passengers, according to a running list maintained by the FAA.

City News Service contributed to this report.