Oakland

Bay Area Man Steps in to Break Up Fight on Southwest Plane

A retired firefighter from the Bay Area jumped into action Sunday when two men began throwing punches on a Southwest Airlines plane at Burbank Airport.

The flight from Dallas was on its way to Oakland and made a stop at the Southern California airport. While it was on the tarmac, two men aboard the plane started fighting.

That's when Daniel Green stepped in.

"The victim did nothing; he was just getting ready to disembark," Green said. "The guy who started it, according to the victim, 'this guy just started going crazy on me.'"

Cellphone video shows passengers scrambling to get out of the way as the two men punched each other and wrestled across aisles and seats.

Some passengers and flight crew attempted to calm tensions between the two men.

"What was awesome was the women were the first ones there trying to break up the guys, but they couldn’t," Green said.

The video shows a female flight attendant rushing in but ending up in the seat with the men slugging it out on top of her.

"I see people with their cellphones, but nobody’s helping," Green said.

Green was able to break it up.

"It was surreal," he said. "You see it on TV; all of a sudden it’s happening in front of you."

Southwest Airlines acknowledged the fight took place, giving thanks to its employees for their response.

One person was arrested.

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