Passengers Come To The Rescue After Man Attacks Delta Attendant Mid-Flight

SEATTLE, WA (CBSNewYork) -- The FBI is now investigating a terrifying mid-air incident on board a Delta flight -- a passenger attacked a flight attendant.

As CBS2's Jessica Layton reported, several people intervened to subdue the man.

The Beijing bound passengers of Delta flight 129 had to return to Seattle after a 23-year-old Florida man in first class started acting agitated. Another passenger who did not want to go on camera, saw what happened next.

"And then he started going toward the exit door, where a flight attendant tried to subdue him, where she got punched, and then another guy came in, and tried to help and he got drilled too," the witness said.

The situation escalated quickly.

"And they broke two bottles of wine on his head, and then a scuffle broke out. We used a cart, pushed against him, and then we tackled him. We tried to choke him, and he just threw me off like a rag doll, and then we zip-tied him, and flew back here," the passenger added.

Even passengers back in coach knew the situation was serious.

"We could see the scuffling going on. One of the flight attendants ran back and said there was a Code 3. There was a serious fight up front," passenger Dustin Jones said.

The flight attendant was injured trying to subdue the passenger.

"And she got hit twice, and she had some cuts, and her jaw was hit, and the other guy that go hit in the head, he was bleeding," a passenger said.

The alleged assailant was arrested.

"They rolled the guy out, and he was handcuffed, feet and hands bound, in a wheelchair," Jones said.

Two people were transported to the hospital. The rest of the passengers were rebooked on a flight late Thursday night.

The FBI said there are no indications the incident was a threat to national security.