Passenger smacks pilot over 13-hour flight delay: wild video

Travel

By Ben Cost

He swatted a flyboy.

Footage captured the wild moment when a passenger smacked a pilot after learning that the plane was delayed for 13 hours. A clip of the wild incident has amassed over 3.1 million views on X as commenters shamed the man for his behavior.

The smackdown occurred on Sunday after an IndiGo flight traveling from Delhi to Goa, in India, was delayed for 13 hours due to poor visibility caused by dense fog sweeping the region, according to Jam Press.

Pilot Anup Kumar announced the situation, which apparently did not sit well with one of the passengers, identified as Sahil Kataria, India Today reported.

Footage shows the incensed flyer — who’s wearing a yellow hoodie — charging up the aisle and smacking the pilot with his open hand as onlookers cry out in shock.

“If you want to fly, then fly the plane,” he yells at Kumar, who is seen backing into the cockpit. “Otherwise open the door.”

At that point, a flight attendant gets between the two, while Kataria is grabbed by a fellow passenger in a sky-blue hoodie and ushered back to his seat.

The aforementioned crew member then bursts into tears and lays into him, screaming: “This is wrong what you did. You cannot do this.”

A separate clip shows the passenger being escorted off the aircraft by armed guards, before apologizing to Kumar on camera.

Both the pilot and the airline have since filed police reports against Kataria, who was arrested by the Delhi police.

Viewers were quick to shame the traveler over the assault.

“Frustration doesn’t give a passenger the right to physically assault a crew member,” declared one.

Another wrote, “This maniac should be put on no-fly list atleast for 3 years.”

However, others criticized IndiGo for its alleged gross incompetence preceding the incident. Many cited the fact that the pilot did not communicate the reason for the delay, although they admitted this didn’t justify the attack.

“Both airlines and passenger are at fault here,” wrote one. “X is full of complaints against Indigo where they are not communicating the delay and status correctly with passengers, taking them for a ride. On the other hand, no amount of frustration gives anyone a right to physically assault someone. That’s criminal.”

Indeed, the incident comes amid a torrent of complaints directed at IndiGo: On Saturday, Bollywood actress Radhika Apte claimed on Instagram that she and her fellow passengers were locked inside an IndiGo flight’s jet bridge at the Mumbai airport for several hours due to a crew change.

“I had a flight at 8:30. It’s 10:50 now and the flight has still not boarded,” she griped in the post. “BUT the flight said we were boarding and put all the passengers in the aerobridge and LOCKED IT! The passengers with small babies, elderly people have been locked in for over an hour. The security won’t open the doors. The staff has ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE!”

Apte added, ” I managed to escaped briefly to speak to the very stupid staff woman outside who kept saying there is no issue and no delay 🙂 now I’m locked inside AND they just told us that we will be here till minimum 12pm all locked in. No water no loo. Thanks for the fun ride!!”