Deaf and non-verbal man attacked ‘viciously’ while sleeping on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO– A bloody attack on a United Flight is now under investigation by the FBI and FAA.

A man who was deaf and nonverbal was punched by another passenger in what appears to be a random incident after the plane took off from San Francisco International Airport on Monday.

“The next thing I know, all I hear is blood-curdling screams,” said passenger Sandhya Gupta.

Gupta describes the moment she woke up Monday two hours after her United Airlines flight from SFO to Washington Dulles International Airport.

In the row in front of her, she saw one passenger attack another.

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“He was just very violent and very aggressive, he just hit the man sitting on the window seat who was sitting in front of me, and it was vicious. This wasn’t like a bar, I’m going to throw some punches. “I mean, this was mean,” Gupta said.

The FBI says the suspect, Everett Chad Nelson, had just gone to the bathroom and was walking back to his seat when he attacked the victim, who was fast asleep, in a random row that wasn’t his.

Another passenger jumped in to help.

“Basically it was like a hug from this guy and the attacker, it was the weirdest thing, he just went limp. This doctor just tried to stop the bleeding, his face was just a mess. horrible. There was blood splatter on the window mold and things like that,” said Gupta.

At that point, Gupta said they learned the victim could not hear or speak.

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“When he tried to communicate with us in sign language, we realized he was deaf and non-verbal,” he said.

That victim communicated with United’s flight crew via phone messages, according to Gupta.

“He also kept texting, ‘I’m so scared.’ Like it was just horrible,” he said.

Gupta says some of those texts were from flight attendants who said the suspect had claimed the victim had previously assaulted him on the street, but the victim wrote that he had never seen the man before in his life.

The suspect was arrested shortly after the plane landed at Dulles and remains in jail at last check.

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The victim, who was treated by the onboard doctor, was fine but physically and mentally shaken by what had happened.

United Airlines released this statement:

“Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained Monday after becoming physically aggressive toward another customer on a flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles. The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement. “

The FAA released this statement:

United Airlines Flight 2247 landed safely at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after the crew reported a passenger disturbance at 1:40 PM local time on Monday, October 28. The Boeing 737-900 took off from San Francisco International Airport. The FAA will investigate. Please contact the airline and local authorities for further information.”

Background:

Unruly passenger incidents have fallen by more than 80% since record highs in early 2021, but unacceptable behavior continues to occur. Airlines have reported more than 1,240 cases of unruly passengers in 2024.

The FAA takes legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crew members, and may impose civil penalties of up to $37,000 per violation. Detailed current data on these incidents is available on our unruly passenger website.