Unruly Airline passenger’s violent attack forces emergency landing

Echoing last year’s all-time high for disruptive airline passengers, one man’s crazed behavior caused his Virgin Atlantic flight—traveling from London to Los Angeles—to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.

According to CNN, U.K. resident William Stephen Hayes, 39, was removed from the plane upon arrival in Salt Lake City and arrested on suspicion of unruly and downright violent behavior aboard an international flight, local police revealed in a news release.

According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, flight VS141 touched down in Utah’s capital at around 4:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Passengers and cabin crew were still restraining Hayes when Salt Lake City police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers met them at the airport.

The flight, which was scheduled to last nearly 11 hours non-stop, continued on to Los Angeles after the incident and arrived at the destination about four hours past its planned arrival time.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we don’t tolerate any behavior that compromises this,” Virgin Atlantic said in a statement relating to the incident. “We always want our customers to have the best experience when they fly with us and our cabin crew are highly trained to deal with any individuals that may impact that experience for others.”

Hayes was arrested and reportedly continued his aggressive behavior while being hauled off to Salt Lake City Metro Jail. On Wednesday, he was brought before a Utah District Court judge and formally charged with one count of interference with a flight crew, and a second count of assault by “striking, beating and wounding,” according to the court filing.

“Witness statements revealed that throughout the flight Hayes was loud, disruptive, threatening and abusive to other passengers and to crew members,” according to the court documents.

“At one point during the flight, Hayes assaulted a male passenger seated in front of him, grabbing the passenger’s shirt, attempting to hit him, and grabbing his throat,” the documents state. “Hayes also spat on and attempted to bite this passenger.” Flight attendants broke out a restraint kit and he was placed in handcuffs, though, “While restrained, Hayes continued to fight and be abusive, and attempted to kick the windows of the aircraft.”

Witnesses told the Daily Mail that the long wait times and crowding at Heathrow airport prior to their flight’s departure had already created a hostile atmosphere and that Hayes had also been drinking throughout the flight. He was traveling with his pregnant wife and 21-month-old son, who was allegedly injured in the fracas that his own father caused. They are said to have continued on to L.A. to retrieve the family’s luggage and arrange their own return to the U.K.

The outlet reported that Hayes was placed on an immigration detainer and is scheduled for a deportation hearing on August 3. While CNN was unable to determine if he has secured legal counsel, Daily Mail reported that the British Consulate in Los Angeles would be advising him.