Two men who started a brawl as an American Airlines flight landed in Texas were detained on Sunday. At 4:21 p.m. officers from the Austin Police Department in Texas were dispatched to the scene of an American Airlines flight that had landed at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA), according to CBS affiliate KEYE-TV.
When the officers arrived at the plane, which was parked at its gate at the airport, they discovered that two men had been throwing punches at each other. Part of the incident was filmed and shared with the local outlet.
The video clip showed the two men punching each other, while members of the flight crew and several passengers attempted to intervene to stop the fight and get them to return to their seats.
One passenger can be heard in the video shouting "Stop, it's not worth it!" as members of the flight crew urged people to "clear the aisle" and "return to your seats immediately."
The fight between the two men, who were both wearing face masks per federal rules, appeared to continue for more than 20 seconds, before they were initially separated by passengers.
After the brawl first appeared to be over, one of the men then began punching the other one again, before they were once again separated from each other.
Witnesses of the incident told KEYE-TV that the two men who brawled in the cabin argued throughout the flight from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Austin, Texas, over a seat that was put in the recline position.
"When the plane finally landed in Austin and the seatbelt sign was turned off, both men jumped up and physically started fighting each other," an unnamed passenger said.
The police detained both men after responding to the scene, as they were escorted off of the plane. It is not yet clear whether the men were arrested or charged following the incident.
An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed to KEYE-TV that an incident took place during the flight but did not elaborate on the actions of local law enforcement or confirm what started the altercation.
"Law enforcement were requested to meet American Eagle flight 4698, operated by Republic Airways, after arriving to Austin (AUS) from New Orleans (MSY) due to an altercation between passengers," the airline said.
Newsweek has contacted American Airlines, the Austin Police Department and the ABIA for comment.
There have been several newsworthy incidents on planes in the U.S. in 2021, and the fight on Sunday came less than two months after a Southwest Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing when a brawl broke out while the plane was still in the air.
A cell phone was reported to have exploded during the altercation in June after a woman repeatedly hit a fellow passenger with it, as people onboard were able to take care of the smoldering phone by throwing water onto it.
That was the second fight in the space of a month on a SouthWest Airlines flight, as in May a flight attendant lost two of her teeth during an altercation with a passenger after they allegedly ignored standard in-flight procedures.
