Pilot Restrains Drunk Passenger: “You Don’t Put Your Hands on My Flight Attendant”

An American Airlines pilot is earning accolades after coming to the defense of a flight attendant who was accosted by an aggressive and violent passenger.

Twenty-five-year-old Michael Kerr picked the wrong flight on which to misbehave. The unruly flyer was taught a lesson that he won’t soon forget on a July 21 American Airlines flight from Blue Grass Airport (LEX) to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).

A video obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader shows the moment that an American Airlines captain took the abusive passenger to the ground. The video captured by passenger Brian Colón provides a clear view of the disturbing incident. As the pilot instantly pins the alleged troublemaker on the floor, he can be clearly heard telling the passenger, “You don’t put your hands on my flight attendant!”

Prior to being restrained by the pilot, Kerr appears to have violently shoved a flight attendant and is also heard apparently threatening to break the pilot’s jaw. The violent scene reportedly started shortly after the plane landed at CLT, when the irate passenger became impatient to exit the aircraft. When a flight attendant ordered the distraught passenger to return to his seat, he allegedly flew into a rage and assaulted her.

“I was scared,” Colón, who is a flight attendant himself, told the newspaper. “I was very scared. I felt like the flight attendant’s life was in danger, and I felt like someone else needed to step in, the way he treated her.”

According to witnesses, Kerr, who had consumed Jack Daniels during the flight, resisted for nearly the entire 15 to 20 minutes it took for police to arrive. “Whatever you do is going on Facebook, and you’re a … complete … loser,” Kerr reportedly told the crew member responsible for ending his reign of terror. “You heard me right the first time.”

The out-of-control passenger is now facing charges including assault, interfering with a crew member and public intoxication. According to the Charlotte Observer, the flight attendant who bore the brunt of Michael Kerr’s aggression is undergoing physical therapy as a result of her injuries.

[Photo: Lexington Herald Leader]