Indian American Man Arrested for Threatening to Take Down Flight He Boarded at Tampa International Airport

Shail Patel, 29, who had bloodshot eyes and reeked of alcohol, was traveling in an American Airlines Flight 2506 from Tampa to Philadelphia.

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An Indian American man was arrested at Tampa International Airport in Florida after he threatened to “take down” the plane. Shail Patel, 29, was traveling in an American Airlines Flight 2506 from Tampa to Philadelphia. The flight was delayed 30 minutes due to the disturbance.

Patel began to act “erratically” as soon as he boarded the flight, The New York Post said, citing criminal documents. “He had bloodshot eyes and reeked of alcohol,” the documents added. He was “yelling and cursing” at passengers and allegedly called them “blue-eyed white devils,” adding that he was “gonna take this plane down with all you mother f–kers on it.” He allegedly slapped another person in the hand and face and spat on them.

The Post cited videos taken by passengers on the flight which show Patel’s antics. “In one clip, Patel, dressed in a striped button-down shirt, could be heard calling a crew member a ‘k–e.,’” the report says. In another video, Patel is heard shouting that he’s “trying to get to my home country and you all people made it harder for me to get to my home country.” Another video showed “a fed-up flyer in a blue hoodie and baseball hat grabbing Patel and putting him in a headlock after a shoving match.”

Patel was arrested on two counts of battery and one count of disorderly intoxication, all misdemeanors. He remained in the Hillsboro County jail on a $2,150 bond as of arch 22.