Frontier Airlines Passenger Shatters Plane Window Mid-Air

A passenger onboard a Frontier Airlines flight shattered part of the plane’s window mid-flight during what appeared to be a mental health crisis.

According to reports from ABC13, a man onboard Frontier Flight 4856 from Denver to Houston started kicking and punching a window and had to be restrained by his fellow passengers.

Frontier Airlines and the Houston Police Department have been contacted for comment outside of normal working hours.

Why It Matters

The man was able to kick in the window’s plexiglass before being restrained. If he had managed to fully break the window, then the air pressure in the cabin would have dropped, likely causing the type of suction that killed a woman in 2018 when she was partially sucked out of a broken airplane window.

A broken window would also lead to people experiencing ear-popping, and the cabin’s oxygen masks would fall to help passengers to breathe.

What to Know

According to passengers who spoke with ABC13, the events transpired after the man was asked by a woman in front of him on the Airbus A320 to change seats. However, according to police and as reported by Fox26, the man tried to speak with the woman in front of him, who did not respond.

Per both reports, after their interaction, the man, whose identity has been kept anonymous, then began kicking and punching the window next to him, with the plexiglass shattering out.

This incident occurred 20 minutes into the two-and-a-half hour flight, according to Fox26.

Several passengers jumped up to restrain the man, using zip ties and shoe laces to tie his hands and feet. Footage from inside the plane shows him on the ground, being restrained by fellow passengers.

One passenger, Tanner Phillips, who has an Army background, told ABC 13: “It got very physical.”

He was reportedly screaming in Spanish and telling people not to touch him, but after being restrained he calmed down for the rest of the flight. He appeared to be experiencing a mental health crisis.

Another passenger, Charlotte Jones, who was traveling with her grandmother, said she wants planes to have better security such as an air marshal on board, or to be able to train flight attendants to deal with these situations.

Passengers were scared that the rest of the window would break before the plane landed, but they made it to Houston safely.

Per the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), “unruly behavior” can result in jail time, a $37,000 fine, and/or a place on a no-fly list.

Last year, 2,102 people were reported to the FAA for unruly behaviour.

The number of unruly incidents has fallen significantly since its peak in 2021, when 5,973 people were reported to the FAA.

However, the number of reported disruptive passengers has still not fallen to pre-pandemic levels, as in 2019, some 1,161 people were reported as unruly, and in 2018, only 889 people were reported to the FAA for unruly behavior.

What People Are Saying

Tanner Phillips, a passenger, told ABC13: “There’s like lots of women and kids on the flight. Obviously, so I just wanted to help as much as I could. We put [our] hands on him and were able to secure him. Someone had zip ties, and someone else took their bootlace off and helped us out.”

Charlotte Jones, a passenger, told ABC13: “[We need] better security on board, maybe an air marshal, and training the flight attendants to de-escalate the situation. I mean, it felt like forever until somebody got to this man.”

Jessica Brown, a passenger, told Fox26: “It 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.”

What Happens Next

The man was questioned by the Houston Police Department upon landing, and Frontier Airlines has reportedly declined to press charges at this time.

The FAA has said they have a zero tolerance policy for unruly behaviour on planes, and if prosecuted, passengers who create dangerous situations will face serious consequences.