Passenger launches unprovoked attack on terrified deaf man as he slept on flight

The terrified victim woke up screaming as he was assaulted by Everett Chad Nelson for no apparent reason - other passengers only realised he was deaf when he tried to communicate in sign language

A man has been charged with launching a vicious unprovoked attack on a sleeping fellow passenger midway through a flight.

A court heard how Everett Chad Nelson was accused of leaving his victim, a man who is also both deaf and non-verbal, with blood pouring from his face after he attacked him seemingly without reason.

Nelson, 44, is charged with assault by beating, striking or wounding following the alleged incident on a Virginia-bound United Airlines flight from San Francisco. A court filing described how Nelson was on his way back to his seat from the restroom when he attacked his victim who was asleep at the time.

The victim woke up screaming, according to court documents, with blood spattered across the seat and window, as well as on Nelson's coat.

Sandhya Gupta, who was sitting in the row behind the attack, reported hearing “blood-curdling screams” as the man was assaulted.

“He was just very violently and very aggressively pummeling the guy who was in the window seat who was in front of me and it was vicious,” she told ABC 7 News. “When he was trying to communicate with us in sign language, that's when we realised he was deaf and non-verbal.”

Another passenger ended the attack by pulling Nelson away from his victim, who then used his phone to communicate with airline staff. The messages he wrote said “I'm so scared,” over and over, Sandhya said.

In a statement United Airlines said there had been a “disturbance” on board which was managed by crew and passengers.

“One passenger was restrained after becoming physically aggressive toward another customer on a flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles on Monday,” the statement said. “The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement.”