Hawaii
Southwest passengers brawl on Hawaii-bound flight as crew, others try to break them up: ‘No sense whatsoever’
Trouble nearly in paradise!
Two passengers came to blows about an hour after take-off on a Hawaii-bound flight and forced other travelers and crew members to break up the mid-air fight, the distressing video showed.
The chaos broke out on Southwest Airlines Flight 1288 from Oakland to Lihue Airport on the island of Kauai on Monday, airline officials told Hawaii News Now.
“I heard yelling, screaming and punches. I turned around and saw one man bleeding and then the other man being separated,” passenger Jim Wieder told the outlet.
In the video of the mid-air exchange, one man, dressed in a gray hoodie and baseball hat, is seen inching closer toward the other man, donning a gray pullover, before the confrontation turns ugly.
The man in the baseball hat is slapped in the arm by the man in the pullover as he approaches him from the aisle, while Southwest Airlines crew members and fellow passengers are already physically separating them.
The man in the baseball cap then unleashes a series of punches, landing about seven in the other passenger’s face before fellow male travelers pull him away.
Though restrained, he continued to shout as the men held him back, attempting desperately to calm him down.
“Frankly, I was a little nervous because we’re 35,000 feet and you’ve got two guys swinging at each other, which makes no sense whatsoever,” Wieder said.
The fight happened between two male passengers about an hour into the flight, another witness shared.
It is unclear what ignited the fight between the two passengers.
The plane, however, did not turn around and continued to fly to Kauai, one witness told the outlet.
“We commend our Crew and Customers for their professionalism in diffusing this situation,” a Southwest official said in a statement to Hawaii News Now.
“The flight landed safely at its scheduled destination, and local authorities met the flight upon arrival.”
Both men were detained after the flight landed.
It’s unknown if any charges have been pressed against either man.
“Our department has zero tolerance for violent or unruly behavior aboard an aircraft. If you act out on an airplane, you can face criminal prosecution and fines up to $37,000,″ the US Department of Transportation posted on X.
The scuffle between the men shocked some Hawaii-based flight attendants who spoke with Hawaii News Now.
“I’ve been flying 45 years and no it was not like this,” a flight attendant told the outlet. “Probably the worst thing that happened a couple years ago was a passenger taking a couple peanuts.”
A non-stop flight from Oakland International Airport to Lihue Airport is about five and a half hours.
The in-air melee is just the newest startling altercations to happen in the skies.
Only two weeks ago, a JetBlue passenger had to be restrained by four fellow travelers after becoming abusive toward the cabin crew.
The flight had taken off from London Gatwick Airport and was heading to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport when the aggressive man was caught on video struggling against four other men who were trying to hold him still in the darkened cabin aisle.
The passenger was allegedly drunk when he began to become unruly mid-air.
Similarly, an American Airlines flight last month had to be diverted after a passenger allegedly punched a flight attendant who asked him to stop kicking a fellow flyer’s seat.
A fellow passenger on that flight said the man was spitting at people, adding that she saw him banging his head against the window, and he worried the crew enough that the pilot declared a level two threat at about 1:50 p.m. and diverted to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.
Keith Edward Fagiana, of Las Vegas, was met by law enforcement and charged with interference with a flight crew upon arrival.
The demolition of Aloha Stadium on Oahu took a big step forward Thursday with the first section of seating pulled down from the steel structure.
Half of the elevated deck-level seating on the stadium’s makai side was severed and toppled backward as part of demolition work that began in February.
The other half of the upper makai-side seating is slated to come down Tuesday, followed by similar sections on the mauka side and both end zones, though the concrete foundations for lower-level end-zone seating are being preserved for a new, smaller stadium to rise on the same site.
A private partnership, Aloha Halawa District Partners, led by local developer Stanford Carr, is replacing the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, which opened in 1975 and was shuttered in 2020, with a new stadium featuring up to 31,000 seats.
AHDP is using $350 million of state funding toward the cost of the new stadium, which could be $475 million or more, and will operate and maintain the facility on state land for 30 years with a land lease.
The development team also is to redevelop much of the 98-acre stadium property dominated by parking lots with a new mixed-use community that includes at least 4,100 residences, two hotels, an office tower, retail, entertainment attractions and open spaces expected to be delivered in phases over 25 years and costing close to or more than $5 billion or $6 billion.
Earlier parts of stadium demolition work led by Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. included removing four covered multistory spiral walkways leading to the upper level from the ground, and concourse bridges.
Demolishing the stadium is projected to be done by August, according to Carr.
Building the new facility is expected to be finished in 2029.
Hawaii
This Airbnb Tiny Home Sits on a Lava Field in Hawaii With Unbeatable Night Sky Views—and It’s a Guest Favorite
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/tal-airbnb-one-off-tout-1465b3bde0864117b43761b0d1dd346e.jpg?ssl=1 "This Airbnb Tiny Home Sits on a Lava Field in Hawaii With Unbeatable Night Sky Views—and It’s a Guest Favorite")
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The team behind a popular Hawaii-based home renovation show is now facing legal troubles after airing content that shouldn’t have been released, according to the state.
Hawaii’s Attorney General is now involved after HGTV’s ‘Renovation Aloha’ showed uncensored images of apparent ancient skeletal remains that were discovered at a Hilo property.
In a now-deleted clip on social media, Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama, along with the production team, discovered a cave beneath a Hilo property where they found the remains deep inside.
Video documented their shock when it was found, with the hosts saying, “There’s bones back here. I got to get out of here. Are you fricken serious? I’m serious dude. Is that a skull?”
Tristyn was seen standing further back, saying “This is terrifying. I’m at my stopping point” before leaving.
Hawaii News Now is not showing the bones, but confirmed with HGTV the episode was filmed in December 2025.
Video didn’t show them touching or moving the remains, and HGTV said authorities were notified after the discovery, the property was not developed, and the site was later blessed.
At the time, police said no crime was committed, and the state AG obtained a TRO to prevent the broadcast of the images in accordance with state law.
However this week, uncensored video of the bones was posted online by the Kalamas and HGTV, and included in the episode, triggering a quick rebuke from the community.
“We don’t kaula’i iwi. We do not lay our bones out in the sun to expose him in this manner,” former Oahu Island Burial Council Chair Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu said.
She also said the release of the images was “extremely disappointing,” saying the damage was already done.
“It is irrelevant that bones were not moved. It is irrelevant that they were not disturbed, per se, because somebody didn’t touch them — but you went into their space and that space becomes kapu space once they have transitioned over to po. And when you do that, we honor that. We don’t disturb them,” Wong-Kalu added.
The AG said they took immediate legal action to prevent the unlawful broadcast of images, pointing to a TRO issued prior to the episode’s release. They also said, “We are aware that the segment aired notwithstanding the court’s order, and we take this matter very seriously. The Department will pursue additional action as necessary.”
Court Documents revealed the Kalamas and producers of the show are now facing four counts for allegedly breaking Iwi Kupuna protection rules.
“If that were our grandparent, would we want them, after they have physically transitioned to po, would we want to share our family in this manner? I don’t think so,” Wong-Kalu added.
HGTV said in a statement, “We take the concerns raised by the community very seriously and are committed to ensuring our programming is respectful and appropriate. We apologize to anyone who found any part of the episode offensive, that was not HGTV’s intention.”
They also confirmed the original episode was removed, and re-edited without the bones included.
Through our communication with the HGTV spokesperson, Hawaii News Now offered the Kalamas a chance to respond directly, but they did not. They did however take to Instagram to address the episode, saying they followed the protocols they knew, and never intended to build there. They stressed their respect for Hawaiian culture and practices.
The investigation remains active.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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