Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Passengers Get Into Bloody Fight

A Spirit Airlines flight from Los Angeles, California, to Detroit, Michigan, had to make an emergency landing in Des Moines, Iowa, after passengers got into a wild brawl.

A woman on the flight told ClickOnDetroit.com that the fight began when a sleeping man started to complain that other passengers were being too loud. The argument quickly escalated as one man can be seen in a cell phone video throwing haymakers to another person sitting in their seat.

"We were in shock, really. We couldn't believe it was happening," she said. "It was really scary. I had my kids with me, and everybody was like, 'Oh my God.'"

She told the news station that crew members refused to get involved and break up the fight, which left both combatants covered in blood.

"'Everyone was like, 'Why aren't you doing anything?' They were like, 'We don't get paid enough to deal with this,'" she said.

After the men stopped fighting, they went into the bathroom to change out of their bloody clothes. They were taken off the plane by police, but are not facing any charges. Authorities in Des Moines said that because the fight happened over Nebraska, they lacked the jurisdiction to take the combatants into custody.

One of the men was allowed to reboard the flight, while the person who instigated the fight was forced to stay in Des Moines.

"He was free to go. It appears that he was the victim of the assault but initiated the dispute on the flight. It started because he wanted to sleep, and he protested other people, including a flight attendant, for talking too loudly," Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said.

After a delay of two hours in Des Moines, the flight got back in the air and continued on to Detroit.

Photo: Getty Images