A screenshot from the viral video. Brian Colon/You Tube
An American Airlines pilot tackled an unruly passenger who was accused of attacking a flight attendant after downing Jack Daniels.
Fox News says the pilot “is being hailed as a hero for taking down a belligerent passenger.” That passenger was identified as Michael Kerr, 25, of Kentucky, who had just accepted a proposal when he was served three Jack Daniels, according to Fox. The incident occurred July 21 on a flight from Lexington, Kentucky to Charlotte.
What happened next was captured on cell phone video. Watch:
In the video, the pilot repeatedly asks the man, who is slurring his words, to take a seat. “I don’t want to take a seat,” says the man. ABC says the passenger is now facing federal charges. The flight was headed to Charlotte. “Enough! You don’t put your hands on my flight attendant,” said the pilot. The Daily Caller said the pilot learned the tackling maneuver in peewee football.
“Whatever you do is going on Facebook… and you’re a … complete loser,” the man shouts. “…yep, yep, pull me up. While you still have a chance to stay face,” the passenger says. “You’re online even though you don’t want to accept it.”
According to The Lexington Herald Leader newspaper, Lexington native Brian Colon shot the video; Kerr was fired from his job as a cook at Portofino, said the newspaper.
The Lexington Herald said that an FBI affidavit accuses Kerr of having “threatened, shoved, kicked and spat at flight attendants” and he faces charges of “being intoxicated and disruptive, assault on a female, communicating threats and interfering with a flight crew or attendant, according to the Charlotte Observer.” According to the Charlotte Observer, Kerr is banned from flying on commercial planes. The newspaper said Kerr was eventually “dragged” off the plane by police. The pilot was not named.