The American flying experience is shadowed not only by the threat of structural breakdown but also of social breakdown. Fortunately, there are remedies for both.

In the case of a recent American Airlines flight set to take off from Tampa, Florida, for Philadelphia, the remedy apparently took the form of a hulking off-duty cop with an apparent zero-tolerance policy for nonsense.

American Airlines flight 2506 was scheduled to depart Tampa International Airport Tuesday afternoon. However, a physical altercation broke out during boarding, resulting in a 30-minute delay, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The incident, which was captured on video, appears to have started when an individual in a blue-striped shirt was asked to disembark and refused to do so.

A male flight attendant can be seen calmly asking the unruly passenger to comply. The passenger threatens the flight attendant, then returns to his seat.

After suggesting that the flight attendants were ganging up on him, the unruly passenger twice hurls anti-Semitic remarks, calling the male attendant a "k**e" and "k**e human."

The bigot evidently attracts the interest of at least one other passenger, who appears to recommend that he get off the plane.

"You want to be a tough guy, bro?" says the unruly passenger. "You're all teaming up. See how most of the people are white here?"

The unruly passenger tells the female flight attendant, "I'm trying to get to my home country, and you all people made it harder for me to get to my home country. I'm telling you, I'm telling you."

Having sapped the goodwill in the airplane, the unruly passenger decides to get physical with a brawny man in a blue-hooded shirt and baseball hat.

"They want to see you up front, cos. Go up to the front," says the man in blue. "C'mon, c'mon."

No longer dealing with timid flight attendants, the unruly passenger's demeanor appears to shift. He calls the man in blue "big guy," then asks, "You gonna touch me?"

The man in blue indicates he is not interested in a physical confrontation, even as the unruly passenger shouts in his face.

As the female flight attendant calls for support, the unruly passenger takes a step in the right direction but pivots, approaching the man in blue, aggressively yelling, "You touch me, fool?"

The man in blue defensively pushes the bigot back; however, the unruly passenger swiftly closes the distance, attacking the man in blue and pushing him rearward into other people standing in the aisle.

The man in blue makes quick work out of the unruly passenger, putting him in a headlock.

"Now put your hands down and don't touch anybody," yells the man in blue.

A woman off camera can be heard announcing, "I'm a police officer."

The man in blue responds, "So am I."

"Turn around and walk," says the man in blue to the bigot.

With the help of the other self-identified cop, the man in blue successfully escorts the unruly passenger off the plane to the sound of applause.

The Tampa International Airport Police Department indicated that police arrested the unruly passenger just before 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He was reportedly charged with disorderly intoxication and two counts of battery.

American Airlines told the Inquirer that law enforcement had been requested to the aircraft "due to a disturbance in the cabin involving a disruptive customer." According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the incident involved two passengers who got into a tussle during boarding.

"We thank our team for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience," said the airline.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!