Two Men Arrested in Miami After One Punches Pilot on SFO-Bound Flight

Two men were arrested Wednesday night at Miami International Airport after one punched an American Airlines pilot on a flight headed to San Francisco, an American Airlines spokesman said.

Flight 1755 was taxiing out of the Miami airport at about 9 p.m. Wednesday when one passenger failed to comply with flight crew instructions and seemed intoxicated, airline spokesman Tim Smith said.

The plane returned to the gate and the man deplaned without incident, but then the second man, who was traveling with the first man, got involved, Smith said.

"(Crew) didn't want that to escalate in the air," he said.

The second passenger walked onto the jet bridge and police were called. Just before police arrived, the second passenger punched the pilot a couple of times, Smith said.

At the time of the assault, the pilot had been walking to the gate to discuss flight logistics, not to deal with the passenger, Smith said. The pilot was checked out by paramedics and declined further treatment.

After the pilot was punched, Dade County authorities arrested both men. Because assaulting an airline crewmember is a federal offense, the FBI is now involved in the investigation, Smith said.

No other passengers were involved, though some of the passengers at the front of the plane went to see if they could be of assistance before police arrived, Smith said.

A few hours later, the flight was able to take off and arrived at SFO early this morning, Smith said.

- Bay City News