Reports: Man punches pregnant woman, service dog on Frontier flight to Orlando

Ben Mutzabaugh | USA TODAY

A Frontier Airlines passenger has been accused of punching a service dog and then a pregnant woman on a flight to Florida, according to Orlando media reports.

WESH TV of Orlando reports the incident occurred Thursday evening on a flight from Colorado Springs to Orlando.

Citing an incident report from the Orlando Police Department, WESH says the fracas involved a deaf couple travel traveling with a service dog, a Great Dane named Zariel. The woman is 20 weeks pregnant.

In its report, WESH says:

“As the plane descended a 59-year-old man's wife complained of being allergic to dogs. When the plane landed and taxied to the gate, the dog woke up and stood up. Timothy Manley then punched the dog with a closed fist, causing it to yelp, the report said.” “The couple began yelling at the man, who police said reacted by getting into the man’s face. At some point, the man punched the pregnant woman in the stomach.”

Manley was upset that the dog “took up more space than (he) felt it deserved," the Orlando Sentinel added, also citing the police report.

The altercation between the parties continued into the Orlando airport terminal, with WESH showing footage of a man running through a gate area while voices can be heard yelling for someone to call the police.

The woman’s boyfriend tackled the man accused of the attack and held him until police arrived, according to WESH. It was not immediately clear what charges the man might face, though the case has been turned over to the FBI since it began on an aircraft.

Frontier Airlines confirmed an incident had occurred on the flight.

“The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority at Frontier,” spokesman Richard Oliver said in a statement to USA TODAY “Upon deplaning flight 1752 from Colorado Springs to Orlando, there was a confrontation between passengers.

"Police were immediately notified to aid in deescalating the situation," he added.

Neither the couple nor Manley accepted medical treatment, though the Sentinel writes "the woman said she wants to prosecute and is willing to testify on court."