Chaos erupted aboard a Southwest Airlines plane in Dallas when one passenger unleashed a barrage of punches at another, in an attack captured on viral video, authorities said Wednesday.

In the latest incident of unruly passenger behavior, Phoenix-bound travelers were boarding Flight 117 at Love Field when a man in a brown blazer stepped over a heavily tattooed man and began beating him, video footage shows. .

Moments earlier, the man in the jacket had approached the tattooed gentleman, asked for his address «and he actually gave him the address and then he started hitting him,» witness Caitlin Johnson, 32, told NBC News on Wednesday.

Johnson, a speech-language pathologist in Arizona who was only a few rows behind the chaos, said the tattooed man was sitting down and was in no position to fight back or defend himself.

«He probably hit the guy four times before someone started recording,» Johnson said.

Minutes earlier in the gate area, the tattooed man allegedly accidentally collided with the wife of his eventual attacker, Johnson said he learned from other travelers.

«The guy in the jacket just lost his temper, broke down, that set him off,» Johnson said. «People waiting said the guy in the jacket started talking to him (after the hit) outside the plane and he just ignored him.»

Other travelers joined the fray to break it up before both men were removed from the plane.

SWA acknowledged that the incident occurred, but declined to provide further details.

«Nothing to share other than to say that our flight crews are well trained in de-escalation and we commend them for handling the situation and ensuring the safety and comfort of the other passengers in the cabin,» according to a statement from the Dallas-based airline. conveyor.

The man who was struck did not want to leave the plane, but the ground staff insisted that he leave for treatment.

«Someone walked up to the guy with the tattoo and said, ‘Sir, you need to get off the plane, you need medical attention,'» Johnson said. “He said, ‘I can’t, I have to go to work.’ But he got off. His face was swollen like a baseball, he was messed up.»

A representative for the Dallas police confirmed that officers responded to the plane at Love Field that day, but declined to comment further.

No arrests were made.

Johnson said she reached out to the man in the tan jacket through her Instagram, and he apologized for the ruckus on Monday.

«I’m not proud of my actions,» he wrote, according to a screenshot Johnson took of his IG chat.

The man said he is seeking counseling and urged young people who saw the video to «walk away because violence is not the answer.»

The S.W.A. incident it happened one day after a man aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston allegedly attempted to open a plane’s emergency exit door and then attacked a flight attendant.

chantal da silva contributed.