A Frontier Airlines passenger who was caught on camera cackling after allegedly attacking a fellow flyer while mid-air had his smug grin wiped clean off his face the moment the plane landed.
Ishann Sharma, 21, of New Jersey, was arrested Tuesday and charged with battery after a violent brawl erupted on board a flight arriving at Miami International Airport, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called to the tarmac Monday night following reports of an assault on a flight coming into the airport.
An arrest report states Sharma approached a fellow passenger and grabbed him without warning by the neck as the man was returning to his seat.
Bizarrely, Sharma’s defense attorney claimed the incident occurred after a passenger took issue with his client for meditating.
Video shows a grisly fistfight between Sharma and the victim – a man wearing a grey sweatshirt and sporting dreadlocks – as they slug it out in a row of seats, while shocked passengers plead with them to stop.
The pair were eventually pulled apart, but Sharma returned to his seat grinning, allegedly mumbling to himself and snapping selfies of his bloodied face.
He sustained a cut above his left eyebrow, while the victim suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment.
A Frontier Airlines passenger who was caught on camera cackling after allegedly attacking a fellow flyer mid-air had his smug grin wiped clean off his face the moment the plane landed
Ishann Sharma, 21, was arrested Tuesday and charged with battery following the violent altercation
An arrest report states Ishann Sharma approached a fellow passenger and grabbed him without warning by the neck as the man was returning to his seat
Sharma’s smirk didn’t last long as he was marched off the plane in handcuffs by deputies and taken to Jackson West Hospital for treatment before being booked into custody.
Sharma appeared in bond court on Tuesday, where his attorney bizarrely claimed the altercation began while he was meditating.
‘My client is from a religion where he was meditating,’ said defense attorney Renee Gordon. ‘Unfortunately, the passenger behind him did not like that.’
But the excuse didn’t sway Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Gerald Hubbart, who set Sharma’s bond at $500.
He also ordered Sharma to have no contact with the victim, either in person or on social media, and issued a 500-foot stay-away order from the victim’s school and workplace.
A clear motive for the alleged mid-air assault has yet to be determined.
Frontier Airlines did not immediately respond to Daily Mail’s request for comment.
Bizarrely, his defense attorney claimed the incident occurred after a passenger took issue with Sharma for meditating
Sharma was marched off the plane in handcuffs by deputies and taken to Jackson West Hospital for treatment before being booked into custody
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Gerald Hubbart who set Sharma’s bond at $500 and forbid him from having contact with the victim
It comes just months after passengers aboard a Frontier flight had to restrain an unruly patron after he punched out a window on the jet.
Footage captured aboard Flight 4856 from Denver to Houston showed the unknown man frantically lashing out at his fellow passengers in early February.
Those onboard had to resort to using shoelaces and zip ties to restrain him following the violent outburst, which saw him punch through the plexiglass of a window.
