Deaf and non-verbal man 'viciously' attacked while sleeping on United Airlines flight from SFO: Passenger

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A bloody attack on a United flight after departure from San Francisco International Airport on Monday. A man who was deaf and speechless was knocked down by another passenger in a seemingly random incident.

The attack is currently being investigated by the FBI and the FAA.

“The next thing I know, I hear these bloodcurdling screams.”

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

In the row in front of her, she could see one passenger attacking another.

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“He just went very violently and very aggressively at the guy sitting at the window in front of me and it was vicious. It wasn't like in a bar, I'm going to throw a few punches back and forth.” “I mean, that was vicious,” Gupta said.

According to the FBI, the suspect, Everett Chad Nelson, had just gone to the bathroom and was heading 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 I kind of wrapped this guy up in kind of a hug and the attacker just, it was the strangest thing, he just went limp. This doctor was just trying to stop the bleeding, his face was just a mess. That was it.” “It was terrible. There were blood splatters on the window mold and all that stuff,” Gupta said.

That's when they learned, according to Gupta, that the victim couldn't hear or speak.

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“When he tried to communicate with us in sign language, we discovered he was deaf and speechless,” he said.

According to Gupta, the victim communicated with the United flight crew by telephone.

“He also kept writing, 'I'm so scared.' Like it was just terrible,” he said.

Gupta says some of those text messages came from flight attendants who said the suspect claimed the victim had previously attacked him on the street, but the victim wrote that he had never seen the man in his life.

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

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

United Airlines issued this statement:

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

The FAA issued this statement:

“United Airlines Flight 2247 landed safely at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after the crew reported a passenger disturbance at 1:40 p.m. local time on Monday, October 28. The Boeing 737-900 left San Francisco International Airport. The FAA will investigate. For further information, please contact the airline and local authorities.

Background:

The rate of unruly passenger incidents has fallen by over 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 will take legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates or disrupts flight crew members and may propose civil penalties of up to $37,000 per violation. Detailed current data on these incidents can be found on our Unruly Passengers website.