An unruly airline passenger allegedly bit a fellow flyer aboard a flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Philadelphia on Sunday, according to pilot audio. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
An unruly passenger bit a fellow flyer and started throwing punches aboard an American Airlines flight on Sunday, according to audio of a pilot’s conversation with air traffic controllers.
A recording first obtained by CBS News and then posted online by aviation industry monitors shows the incident happened aboard American Airlines flight AA3046 from Charlotte, N.C., to Philadelphia.
In it, the pilot of the Airbus A320 tells controllers to have emergency medics and law enforcement personnel ready meet the aircraft on arrival at Philadelphia International Airport due to a disturbance onboard allegedly created by a male passenger in his 70s.
“I don’t know… if he’s hallucinating or whatever, but he just bit a passenger and he’s trying to fight everybody,” the pilot is heard saying.
The crew of American Airlines A320 N111US, operating flight AA3046 from Charlotte to Philadelphia, requested law enforcement and EMTs to meet the aircraft on arrival after a passenger in his 70s reportedly bit another passenger and began "trying to fight everybody."
The pilot… pic.twitter.com/ezRBoNsZ5s— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) June 21, 2026
After getting confirmation from the control tower, the pilot adds, “What a day, huh?”
The controller responds, “Happy Father’s Day!”
American Airlines told CBS the passenger was experiencing a medical emergency and that he was “assisted” before the flight landed but did not confirm if police were present upon arrival.
