A Florida man who physically attacked a sleeping passenger and bloodied the cabin on a United Airlines flight is facing felony charges for the unprompted assault.
On Monday, Everett Chad Nelson, 44, was aboard a plane traveling from San Francisco to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.
While returning to his seat after using the restroom, Nelson allegedly "without notice, began physically attacking a sleeping male passenger by punching him repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn," a federal complaint filed Tuesday alleged, according to reporting by The Independent.
After a full minute, a fellow passenger stepped in to pull Nelson away from the victim, whose blood had splattered across the seat, wall, window, and suspect's jacket.
The cabin crew moved Nelson to the front of the plane to allow the intervening passenger to watch over him until the plane landed, The Independent reported.
Nelson was arrested and charged with one count of assault by beating, striking, and wounding in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the U.S. If found guilty, he faces up to one year in prison.
