Man used racial slur, threw punches before brawl broke out on Florida flight, passenger says

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A wild brawl broke out between passengers on a flight from Philadelphia to Miami as bad behavior by airline passengers continues to reach new heights, Local 10 reported.

Kiera Pierre Louis, a musical artist who goes by the name Milli Miami, recorded video of the incident, which occurred after the plane landed in Miami on Sunday night.

Pierre Louis said one passenger was angry because he thought another passenger was taking too long to get his luggage and was blocking the aisle. She said he called him a racial slur, then punched him.

Video shows the man throwing punches before he pushes the other passenger down to his seat. A woman is seen punching the first passenger and grabbing him by the hair while others try pulling him off the second passenger.

“You can see the white man on top of the Black passenger just beating him between the seats. The flight attendant got involved. The white man’s wife got involved. His son, I believe, and his son’s girlfriend — everyone was just involved,” Pierre Louis told Local 10.

Several passengers and flight attendants had to intervene and were eventually able to break up the fight. Once the two men were separated, the first passenger left the plane. According to Pierre Louis, the man who started the fight was allowed to leave, but the second passenger was told to stay behind.

“Racism, of course,” Pierre Louis said. “The Black passenger had to wait on the plane, when he didn’t even start it, and the police, while we were walking off the plane, walked right past the person, the white man who actually initiated everything. “

But Miami-Dade police said the passenger only stayed behind so he could file a police report. He did not end up pressing charges and the man who started the brawl was let go, according to the news station.

Frontier Airlines provided the news station with the following statement:

“Yesterday as a flight from Philadelphia to Miami was deplaning at MIA, a physical altercation broke out among passengers who were towards the back of the aircraft. The flight crew requested law enforcement assistance. All passengers involved were asked to remain on the aircraft however some disregarded the flight crew’s instructions. Ultimately, local law enforcement became involved.”