Passenger Restrained After Allegedly Punching and Cracking Airplane Window

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock image of a Frontier Airlines plane in June 2022.Photo:Daniel Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty

Daniel Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty

A Frontier Airlines passenger was restrained after he allegedly punched the aircraft’s windows on a Tuesday, Feb. 4, flight from Denver to Houston,Fox 26andABC Newsreport.A fellow passenger filed the incident, during which the passenger was “banging on the windows” mid-flight.The Frontier Flight 4856 was traveling from Denver to Houston and landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 11:10 p.m., per Fox 26. Twenty minutes into the flight, the combative passenger attempted to speak to the woman in the row in front of him, but she didn’t reply, police said, per Fox 26.He then started punching the seat in front of him and the plane window. “He was screaming in multiple languages, punching at the window, lying back, and trying to kick it out,” passenger Tanner Phillips said onABC World News Tonight with David Muir.The window sustained damage, and there were cracks in the glass and the passenger’s blood was on the glass.Other male passengers then restrained him and put him back in his seat. “It took a couple of guys to get his arms secured,” Phillips said.A Frontier Airlines plane lands at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Feb. 27, 2020.GettyHe reportedly remained calm for the rest of the 2-hour, 30-minute flight. Upon arrival, the Houston Police Department performed a welfare check at Bush Airport for the passenger, and the HPD questioned him.Frontier Airlines reportedly declined to press charges.Passenger Jessica Brown told Fox 26 that the incident was “absolutely chaotic.““The most terrifying thing I’ve ever been through. We turned around, and we saw this guy just punching out the window, and immediately we screamed for help,” Brown said.“I just thought we are not having another 9-11. Like, this is not going to happen, and I was just so thankful that my husband and the other men jumped in immediately, so he didn’t break the second panel of the window,” Brown continued. “We were using shoestrings and belts, headphones, just to get him restrained.“Another passenger, 13-year-old Chloe Starcevic, said she was “absolutely terrified” and that her “anxiety was really bad.““Me and my mom were shaking the whole time, and we were praying the whole time. I didn’t know what was going to happen. It was really scary,” Starcevic told Fox 26. “I didn’t really know what to think. I didn’t know what was going to happen to all of us. I was really concerned for my dad, because he’s very brave for wanting to do that.“The recent aviation incident is the latest of several making headlines in the last week, including theplane and helicopter collisionin Washington D.C.,the medical jet that crashedin Philadelphia, thetwo planes that collided on the tarmacat the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and theplane that caught firebefore taking off in Houston.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.A representative for Frontier Airlines referred PEOPLE to the Houston Police Department for information on the incident. Houston Police have not immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for further information.

A Frontier Airlines passenger was restrained after he allegedly punched the aircraft’s windows on a Tuesday, Feb. 4, flight from Denver to Houston,Fox 26andABC Newsreport.

A fellow passenger filed the incident, during which the passenger was “banging on the windows” mid-flight.

The Frontier Flight 4856 was traveling from Denver to Houston and landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 11:10 p.m., per Fox 26. Twenty minutes into the flight, the combative passenger attempted to speak to the woman in the row in front of him, but she didn’t reply, police said, per Fox 26.

He then started punching the seat in front of him and the plane window. “He was screaming in multiple languages, punching at the window, lying back, and trying to kick it out,” passenger Tanner Phillips said onABC World News Tonight with David Muir.

The window sustained damage, and there were cracks in the glass and the passenger’s blood was on the glass.

Other male passengers then restrained him and put him back in his seat. “It took a couple of guys to get his arms secured,” Phillips said.

A Frontier Airlines plane lands at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Feb. 27, 2020.Getty

Getty

He reportedly remained calm for the rest of the 2-hour, 30-minute flight. Upon arrival, the Houston Police Department performed a welfare check at Bush Airport for the passenger, and the HPD questioned him.

Frontier Airlines reportedly declined to press charges.

Passenger Jessica Brown told Fox 26 that the incident was “absolutely chaotic.”

“The most terrifying thing I’ve ever been through. We turned around, and we saw this guy just punching out the window, and immediately we screamed for help,” Brown said.

“I just thought we are not having another 9-11. Like, this is not going to happen, and I was just so thankful that my husband and the other men jumped in immediately, so he didn’t break the second panel of the window,” Brown continued. “We were using shoestrings and belts, headphones, just to get him restrained.”

Another passenger, 13-year-old Chloe Starcevic, said she was “absolutely terrified” and that her “anxiety was really bad.”

“Me and my mom were shaking the whole time, and we were praying the whole time. I didn’t know what was going to happen. It was really scary,” Starcevic told Fox 26. “I didn’t really know what to think. I didn’t know what was going to happen to all of us. I was really concerned for my dad, because he’s very brave for wanting to do that.”

The recent aviation incident is the latest of several making headlines in the last week, including theplane and helicopter collisionin Washington D.C.,the medical jet that crashedin Philadelphia, thetwo planes that collided on the tarmacat the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and theplane that caught firebefore taking off in Houston.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

A representative for Frontier Airlines referred PEOPLE to the Houston Police Department for information on the incident. Houston Police have not immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for further information.

source: people.com