Passengers on a Sunday Southwest Airlines flight came to the defense of an attendant who was assaulted by an aggressive white woman on a flight from Sacramento to San Diego according to CNN. 

Footage captured the woman punching a flight attendant in the face repeatedly after she was asked to keep her seat belt on while the plane was landing. Several passengers can be heard trying to verbally diffuse the situation. A Black man was seen intervening as well, physically placing himself between the women, according to the video obtained by CBS News. 

Video obtained by CBS News shows the moment a Southwest Airlines flight attendant was punched by a passenger after asking her to keep her seat belt fastened during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego Sunday. https://t.co/gQusevodYC
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— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 27, 2021

“Don’t you dare touch a flight attendant like that,” he said, preventing the woman from continuing her assault.

“She hit me,” the assailant alleged, despite the video proving otherwise.

As the aggressor kept trying to blame the flight attendant for the altercation, the Black passenger persisted and strongly demanded that she “sit the f**k down.”

The flight attendant lost two teeth in the attack and was rushed to a San Diego hospital. The woman was subsequently arrested and charged with a felony battery count. Unfortunately, the attack is part of a growing problem across the country.

Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that there has been a “dramatic increase” in passenger misconduct this year. It wrote in a news release that it had received nearly 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers since the beginning of the year, which include about 1,900 reports of people who refused to obey the federal face mask mandate.

NBC News reports a passenger was kicked off a flight from Washington D.C. after arguing with flight attendants over the mask rule. Additionally, a recent flight bound for Los Angeles was diverted to Denver after a passenger allegedly tried to open an emergency exit, forcing the plane to make the unplanned landing.

Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attentions-CWA International, wrote in an email to Jezebel that the politicization of face masks has contributed to the swell of violent behavior.

“Masks were politicized and violence was stoked,” Nelson wrote. “We are bearing the brunt of this every day at work, including serious injury. It’s dangerous, unacceptable, and it’s got to stop.”

The Union president added, “We’ve never before seen aggression and violence on our planes like we have in the past five months.” She said if we are all to enjoy the experience of air travel, then we must all work together to ensure each other’s safety.

The union that represents Southwest Airlines’ flight attendants has requested that the airline company, the government and general public work together in ending an “epidemic” of assault.

“We are asking our carrier, the government and the flying public’s help in ending this epidemic of aggression and assault. Flight attendants are first responders in the sky who are focused on safety. As people return to the skies, we are asking for everyone’s help in complying with flight attendant requests to help ensure a safe and fun atmosphere for all,” TWU Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery said in a statement to CNN.