Passenger arrives taped to his seat after assault of 3 flight attendants

A Frontier Airlines passenger assaulted three flight attendants, punching one and groping the breasts of two others, on a weekend flight from Philadelphia to Miami, prompting one crew member to tape him to his seat until the plane landed, the authorities said.

Part of the altercation was caught on video by other passengers, who jeered as the man was restrained for the remainder of Flight 2289, which left Philadelphia at 10:41 p.m. Eastern time Saturday and landed 2 hours and 37 minutes later.

Frontier Airlines said in an initial statement Tuesday that the flight attendants would be “relieved of flying” while it investigated, which drew sharp criticism from the Association of Flight Attendants, the nation’s largest flight attendants union. Later Tuesday, the airline said that paid leave was in line with “an event of this nature.”