Summary: A man on a United Airlines flight attacked a sleeping passenger, punching him repeatedly until his face was bruised and bloody. The suspect, Everett Chad Nelson, claimed the victim had attacked him earlier, but a witness stated Nelson’s attack lasted about a minute and the victim did not fight back. The FAA is investigating the incident, which is one of over 1,700 unruly passenger incidents reported this year.
Maybe, maybe not. The fight could be a distraction to draw the air marshal into the open and into a vulnerable situation so that a highjacking can take place. As long as there isn’t immediate danger of loss of life, they might choose to let some guy get punched in order to continue their primary job of protecting 300 other people. Or they might step in.
That’s why they get paid the big bucks. To determine when it’s time to go loud.