Intoxicated Alaska Airlines Passenger Knocks Over Gate Agent While Attempting To Forcefully Board Flight

An Alaska Airlines gate agent suffered injuries after an intoxicated passenger knocked her over while attempting to forcefully board a flight. The incident took place at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday.

The passenger, identified as 47-year-old Mark Allen Hicks, had flown into the airport from California. When he attempted to board an Alaska-bound flight, he was informed by the gate agents that he would not be allowed to fly without a mask.

He walked away and returned with a mask a while later. However, this time the agents stopped him as they felt he was "too intoxicated" to fly. The passenger, however, did not stop and forcefully attempted to board the flight. He knocked over a female gate agent in the process.

"The gentleman just decided to go through one of the people, a woman, and essentially walked right through her and over the top of her as she fell down onto the ground and tried to continue on through to the jetway," Perry Cooper, SEA spokesman, told KIRO.

Police responded to reports of assault and took the passenger into custody. The gate agent, identified as Jill Simpson Lopotosky, was taken to Highline Hospital where she was informed her shoulder was partially dislocated.

The passenger was bailed out the same night. No information was available regarding the charges he faces in connection with the incident.

The incident comes weeks after an American Airlines passenger refusing to wear a mask assaulted a gate agent at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Yolanda Yarbrough, who arrived at the Phoenix airport on a flight from L.A., was not allowed to board her connecting flight to Las Vegas after she refused to wear a mask. The passenger became irate and struck a gate agent in the terminal. Police arrived at the scene and took the passenger into custody. The agent was not injured in the incident. Meanwhile, a video of the incident showed the passenger yelling profanity at the agent as two people tried to calm her down.