A disturbing event took place on a United Airlines flight traveling from San Francisco to Washington Dulles this week. A man from Florida, 44-year-old Everett Chad Nelson, was accused of violently attacking a deaf and nonverbal passenger who was asleep. The incident, which happened approximately two hours into the flight, resulted in a blood-splattered cabin.
According to a criminal complaint, Nelson had gone to the restroom and upon his return, he stopped at seat 12F and began assaulting the sleeping passenger. The severity of the attack resulted in the victim suffering from a split nose and two black eyes.
Sandhya Gupta, another passenger who was seated a row behind the victim, shared her account of the terrifying incident with ABC 7 News. She described the attack as extremely violent, far exceeding a mere scuffle. Nelson reportedly continued his assault for a full minute before another passenger intervened and pulled him away from the victim.
Following the incident, a doctor who was on board treated the injured man. It was during this time that the crew and passengers discovered that the victim was deaf and nonverbal. The victim communicated his fear and confusion about the unprovoked attack to the crew through text messages.
The complaint further states that Nelson did not appear to have any injuries and there was no evidence that the victim had attempted to defend himself. After the incident, flight attendants moved Nelson to a different seat and assigned the passenger who had intervened to monitor him until landing.
The reason for the attack remains unknown, and there is no evidence that the two men knew each other before the flight. Gupta revealed that during a text exchange with the victim, a flight attendant mentioned that Nelson had alleged that the victim had attacked him on the street earlier. However, the victim denied ever having seen Nelson before.
The flight, which had 82 passengers and six crew members on board, was classified as a “Level 2 disturbance” by the TSA, indicating physically abusive behavior. The FBI was alerted mid-flight. Upon landing, the plane was met by paramedics and local law enforcement.
United Airlines issued a statement commending the swift action of the crew and passengers in restraining Nelson. He has since been charged with one count of assault by beating, striking, and wounding in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States and could face up to a year in prison if convicted.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported an increase in unruly passenger incidents, with 1,748 cases so far in 2024, nearing last year’s total of 2,076. However, this is still a significant decrease from the peak of 5,973 incidents in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.