Mumbai, May 19: A passenger experienced a panic attack on a Mumbai-bound Air India flight nearly three hours after it took off from Newark, reports said. The passenger screamed and shouted  intermittently for close to seven hours, even as cabin crew and other passengers on board tried to pacify and restrain him, witnesses said.

According to a report in TOI, after failed attempts to pacify him for several hours, two doctors on board the flight came to his rescue and calmed him down by administering sedatives. Akasa Air Passenger Caught Smoking Beedi Mid-Air, Arrested At Bengaluru Airport.

Pravin Tonsekar, a business class passenger on board the flight said that the elderly man was verbally abusive and on three separate occasions during the episode, he tried to strangle his rather frail looking wife. We had to rush in with the crew and restrain him. He said the man was about 6 foot tall and appeared physically fit. Air India Delhi-Sydney Flight Suffers Mid-Air Turbulence; Several Passengers Injured.

Tonsekar further said “He wanted to disembark. He was screaming, telling the crew to open the door and let him out. He would scream, stop, open the door’ and then at another time hurl abuse and expletives at the crew.”

Even the second batch of crew, whose duty time hadn't started yet and so were in plainclothes got up and tried to ease the situation and calm the man down but to no avail, the eyewitness said. It was only after two doctors on board administered him sedatives that the flight progressed smoothly and landed in Mumbai around noon on Thursday.

A statement from Air India on the incident is awaited.

This comes after reports that some passengers onboard an Air India flight were injured after the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. The incident was reported on May 16 when the Air India flight, which had taken off from Delhi for Sydney, faced turbulence mid-air.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2023 08:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).