Video shows passengers detaining man on Houston-bound Frontier Airlines flight after he punched window, broke plexiglass cover

HOUSTON — Cell phone video captured several passengers restraining a man on a Frontier Airlines flight from Houston to Denver.

But what happened before those dramatic moments is what scared Victoria Clark and her grandmother, Charlotte Jones.

“The lady in front of the gentlemen asked to move seats, and right when she did, he started kicking profusely and started punching the window,” Clark said.

The window was hit so hard that the plexiglass covering it broke.

“He was scary,” Clark said.

Our sister station in Houston was told the flight attendants went on the intercom to see if any law enforcement personnel were on board.

That’s when Tanner Phillips, who served in the army, and several others stepped in to help.

“He was very physical. I picked him up and put him on the ground. It took a couple of guys to get his arms behind him and secured,” Phillips said.

To do that, they used the only tools they had available: zip ties and a shoelace.

“There’s like lots of women and kids on the flight. Obviously, so I just wanted to help as much as I could. We put (our) hands on him and were able to secure him. Someone had zip ties, and someone else took their bootlace off and helped us out.”

The group managed to keep him restrained during the rest of the flight, but people’s minds weren’t at ease with the damaged window.

“You wonder about the air pressure and when you’re landing, is it going to blow the window out or something,” Jones said.

Luckily, they were able to land safely.

While passengers are thankful to be home, they hope to see more safety measures in the sky.

“Better security on board, maybe an air marshal, and training the flight attendants to de-escalate the situation. I mean, it felt like forever until somebody got to this man,” Clark said.

Copyright © 2025 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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