Delta plane forced to return to Houston airport after ‘unruly’ passenger pummels man mid-flight: ‘Not mentally there’

A Delta Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing at a Texas airport after an “unruly” passenger reportedly began punching a man in the head mid-flight.

Delta Flight 2557 flying out of Houston’s Hobby Airport was re-routed back to the runway around 5:25 a.m. on Wednesday after a passenger exhibited “unruly and unlawful behavior towards other customers,” a Delta Airlines spokesperson told The Post.

A Delta Airlines plane was forced to return to a Texas airport after an “unruly” passenger pummeled a man in the head mid-flight. NurPhoto via Getty Images

Passenger Josh Lemastus said the unruly man, who appeared to be suffering from a mental health episode, bumped into him and started “wailing” on his head, 11Alive reported.

“I’m just sitting there, and a guy walks aggressively by me and aggressively back, and he bumps into my shoulder and starts wailing on my head,” Lemastus told the outlet.

“He punched me three times and then walked back and then started attacking another gentleman behind me.” 

The crazed man appeared to be looking for someone in the cockpit, according to Lemastus, and “asked for the captain,” but he never breached or attempted to access the flight deck, airline officials said.

The flight re-departed and arrived in Atlanta roughly an hour and a half behind schedule. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Then, several other passengers took matters into their own hands, restraining the passenger as the flight crew rushed in to zip-tie his wrists.

“Never seen the gentleman in my life,” Lemastus said. “He started screaming at the guy behind me, and kind of like in tongues. And then everyone assumed that he was just kind of not mentally there.” 

The Atlanta-bound flight with 85 customers aboard declared an emergency and returned to Hobby Airport, where law enforcement was waiting to detain the passenger, the airline said.

The flight re-departed and arrived in Atlanta roughly an hour and a half behind schedule, Delta officials added.

“The safety of our customers and crew is paramount, and Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement.

“We apologize to our customers for this experience and delay in their travels.”