HERE'S ABC'S TRANSPORTATION CORRESPONDENT GIO BENITEZ. >> I'M TAKING OVER THIS PLANE! >> Reporter: THIS IS THE MOMENT A ROUTINE FLIGHT TURNED TERRIFYING. >> I WILL KILL EVERY MAN ON THIS PLANE! >> Reporter: UNITED FLIGHT 2609, LOS ANGELES TO BOSTON -- >> IT'S GOING TO BE A BLOODBATH. >> Reporter: AUTHORITIES SAY A PASSENGER TRIED TO OPEN AN EMERGENCY EXIT. SOON AFTER, THE SUSPECT IS SEEN RUSHING DOWN THE AISLE, HOLDING THIS METAL SPOON WHICH INVESTIGATORS SAY HE TURNED INTO A WEAPON WHILE IN THE BATHROOM. IN ANOTHER INCIDENT ON MONDAY, A BRAWL BREAKING OUT BETWEEN TWO MEN ON A SOUTHWEST FLIGHT BEFORE IT TOOK OFF FROM DALLAS TO PHOENIX. OTHER PASSENGERS ATTEMPTING TO SEPARATE THEM. ONE OF THE MEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN. >> HE APPROACHED ME AGGRESSIVELY WITH MY FAMILY. TE TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED. >> Reporter: BOTH MEN WERE REMOVED FROM THE PLANE. THESE INCIDENTS AND MORE THE LATEST IN A STRING OF ALARMING EVENTS IN THE SKIES LEAVING SOME PASSENGERS ANXIOUS, FEARING FOR THEIR SAFETY. >> I THINK THAT THE AVERAGE AMERICAN IS PROBABLY WONDERING, WHAT IS GOING ON? AT LEAST SIX CLOSE CALLS HERE. DOES THE FAA HAVE A GRASP ON THE SITUATION? >> THE FAA ABSOLUTELY HAS A GRASP ON THE SITUATION, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK AT EVERY DAY. I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE SYSTEM IS STRONG, SAFE, AND RESILIENT. WE OPERATE THE MOST COMPLEX AIR SPACE SYSTEM IN THE WORLD. >> WE ARE HERE TODAY -- >> Reporter: WHILE THE TOP JOB AT FAA HAS BEEN VACANT ALMOST A YEAR, TODAY IN D.C. THE ACTING FAA ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSING THESE CONCERNS BEFORE CONGRESS. >> WE'VE GONE 14 YEARS WITHOUT FATAL COMMERCIAL PASSENGER ACCIDENT. >> KNOCK-ON WOOD? >> KNOCK ON WOOD, KNOCK-ON STEEL. WE DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. >> Reporter: FLYING REMAINS INCREDIBLY SAFE. STILL, RECENT INCIDENTS HAVE TOUCHED NERVE. THIS SOUTHWEST FLIGHT TO FLORIDA, THE CABIN FILLING WITH SMOKE AND PANIC. >> EVACUATE, EVACUATE! >> Reporter: PASSENGERS EVACUATING AFTER A BIRD STRIKE. EXTREME TURBULENCE TERRIFYING PASSENGERS. >> IN A MOMENT YOU KIND OF THINK, PLEASE, GOD, JUST LET ME GET OUT OF THIS. >> Reporter: THIS LUFTHANSA FLIGHT DROPPING 1,000 FEET DURING DINNER SERVICE, SENDING OBJECTS FLYING AND A FLIGHT ATTENDANT REPORTEDLY HITTING THE CEILING. SUSAN ZIMMERMAN WAS ON THE FLIGHT. >> I'M FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT. I WAS HONESTLY THINKING, I'M NEVER GOING TO MEET MY DAUGHTER. >> Reporter: ON THE GROUND, AT LEAST TWO RECENT INSTANCES OF PLANES BUMPING INTO EACH OTHER. EARLIER THIS WEEK AT LOGAN AIRPORT, TWO UNITED PLANES CLIPPED WINGS AS ONE WAS PUSHING BACK FROM A GATE. IN FEBRUARY, THIS PLANE'S WING CLIPPED ON THE TARMAC AT NEWARK AIRPORT. >> ALL OF A SUDDEN I HEAR AND FEEL A JOLT. >> Reporter: A NUMBER OF NEAR-MISSES. JFK AIRPORT, A DELTA PLANE COMING WITHIN SECONDS OF CRASHING INTO AN AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE THAT WAS CROSSING THE WRONG RUNWAY. IN FLORIDA, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS CLEARED AN AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT TO LAND ON THE SAME RUNWAY AN AIR CANADA FLIGHT WAS TAKING OFF. THE PLANES WERE CLOSE TO 3,100 FEET FROM EACH OTHER WHEN THE AMERICAN FLIGHT BEGAN ITS CLIMB OUT. ALSO LAST MONTH, A FRIGHTENING CLOSE CALL AFTER A LEAR JET TOOK OFF WITHOUT CLEARANCE FROM THE TOWER. AS A JET BLUE PLANE WAS PREPARING TO LAND ON AN INTERSECTING RUNWAY. INVESTIGATORS SAY THE JET BLUE PILOT TOOK EVASIVE ACTION AS THE LEAR JET CROSSED THAT RUNWAY. ALL THIS AND MORE PUTTING A RENEWED SPOTLIGHT ON AVIATION SAFETY. >> WHAT WE ARE ACTUALLY DOING IS PUSHING A TUBE FILLED WITH PEOPLE THROUGH THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE SEVEN OR EIGHT MILES ABOVE THE EARTH. WE MAKE IT LOOK EASY, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S HARD. IT REQUIRES DILIGENCE AND DEDICATION TO ENSURE THAT BEST PRACTICES ARE ADHERED TO ON EVERY HOUR OF EVERY FLIGHT, EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK, EVERY MONTH, EVERY YEAR, FOR DECADES-LONG CAREERS. >> LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CLOSE CALLS WE'VE BEEN SEEING. DOES THAT CONCERN YOU WHEN YOU SEE AT LEAST SIX CLOSE CALLS SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER, RIGHT? JUST WITHIN MONTHS' TIME. >> THE SAME ISSUE IS HAPPENING WHEN THEY'RE WORKING PILOTS TO THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF HOURS THAT THEY CAN POSSIBLY WORK THEM TO. THE ENTIRE SYSTEM THAT IS BEEN STRETCHED THIN BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT CONSISTENTLY FUNDED ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS, AND THE AIRLINES THAT ARE PRIVATE EMPLOYERS HAVE CUT COSTS WHEREVER THEY CAN. >> Reporter: SARAH NELSON IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS AND HAS BEEN A UNITED FLIGHT ATTENDANT FOR OVER 25 YEARS. THE NUMBER OF REPORTED INCIDENTS WITH UNRULY PASSENGERS HAVE DROPPED BY ABOUT 80% SINCE RECORD HIGHS IN EARLY 2021, BUT VIOLENT INCIDENTS HAVE BEEN STEADY. >> A BLOODBATH! >> Reporter: FLIGHT ATTENDANTS ARE STILL ON THE FRONT LINES OF ANY MID-AIR EMERGENCY. >> IN THE AIR THERE'S NO WAY TO CALL FOR HELP, THERE'S NO WAY TO PULL OVER, THERE'S NO WAY TO RUN AWAY, THERE'S NOWHERE TO GO. AND THERE'S FEWER OF US ON THE PLANE THAN EVER BEFORE. SO I'M ANGRY. >> WHY DOES IT MAKE YOU SO EMOTIONAL? >> EVERY DAY WHEN FLIGHT ATTENDANTS COME TO WORK, WE'RE NOT ONLY REMINDED THAT WE'RE AVIATION'S FIRST RESPONDERS, BUT WE'RE ALSO AVIATION'S LAST LINE OF DEFENSE. >> I'M TAKING OVER THIS PLANE! >> Reporter: THE SUSPECT TO THAT FLIGHT FROM LOS ANGELES TO BOSTON, FRANCISCO TORRES, ALLEGEDLY ATTEMPTING TO STAB A CREW MEMBER IN THE NECK THREE TIMES WITH A SPOON. BUT THANKFULLY ONLY HITTING THE SHIRT COLLAR AND TIE. >> THE PERSON IS DETAINED. ATTEMPTED OPENING OF AN EXTERNAL DOOR, EMERGENCY DOOR. >> Reporter: ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, ABOUT FIVE PEOPLE JUMPED AND TACKLED THE SUSPECT, SAYING THEY PULLED THE BROKEN SPOON OUT OF HIS HAND. THE GROUP OF PASSENGERS AND FLIGHT ATTENDANTS HOLDING HIM DOWN, USING ZIP TIES TO RESTRAIN HIM. FBI AGENTS BOARDING THE PLANE AS SOON AS IT LANDED, TAKING TORRES INTO CUSTODY. UNITED AIRLINES THANKING THE QUICK ACTION OF CREW AND CUSTOMERS, ADDING, "NO SERIOUS INJURIES WERE REPORTED." >> SOMEONE WHO THREATENS THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF PASSENGERS ON AN AIRPLANE HAS FORFEITED THEIR PRIVILEGE TO FLY AND SHOULD BE BANNED FROM FLYING. >> Reporter: WITH SO MUCH RECENT TURMOIL IN THE SKIES, PROPER TRAINING OF THE CREW AND PILOTS NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. WHAT ARE THOSE TOOLS THAT WE NEED? >> FLIGHT ATTENDANTS NEED TO HAVE ENOUGH RESTRAINING DEVICES ON BOARD. THEY NEED TO HAVE ENOUGH STAFFING TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THESE ISSUES, IDENTIFY THEM EARLY ENOUGH TO TRY AND CONTAIN THEM. WE NEED TO HAVE THAT MANDATORY CREW MEMBER SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING SO THAT WE CAN RESPOND VERY QUICKLY, SO THAT WE ARE TRAINED IN HOW TO HAVE THAT MEMORY RESPONSE. >> Reporter: CAPTAIN SULLY SULLENBERGER SAYS HIS DECADES OF TRAINING HELPED AVERT DISASTER. >> I JUST SAW A BIG SPLASH, THE PLANE JUST BOUNCED OVER THE WATER. >> Reporter: HE AND FIRST OFFICER JEFF SKILS HAD 208 SECONDS TO EXECUTE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN THE HUDSON RIVER AFTER A BIRD STRIKE. >> YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT JEFF AND I HAD BEEN WORKING TOGETHER LIKE THAT FOR YEARS, BUT IN FACT, WE'D ONLY KNOWN EACH OTHER THREE DAYS. WE HAD TO BE INTERCHANGEABLE. WE HAD A COMBINED 50 YEARS, HALF A CENTURY, OF AIRLINE EXPERIENCE. SO WE WERE EXTRAORDINARILY EXPERIENCED THAT DAY. >> Reporter: ALL 150 PASSENGERS AND 5 CREW MEMBERS SURVIVED. >> GOT TO GIVE IT TO THE PILOT, MAN. A HELL OF A LANDING. >> Reporter: NOW CAPTAIN SELLEN BERGER IS PUSHING TO ENSURE EVERY PILOT HAS THE CRUCIAL TRAINING TO HANDLE ALMOST ANY EMERGENCY. >> PILOTS HAVE AN AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP THEIR PASSENGERS AND CREW SAFE. I AM REMINDING EVERYONE INVOLVED, FAA, AIRLINES, PILOTS, FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, OTHERS -- THAT WE MUST NOT BE COMPLACENT. AS SAFE AS AIR TRAVEL HAS BECOME, WE MUST KEEP ON WORKING EVEN HARDER TO TRY TO MAKE IT SAFER. >> DO YOU FEEL SAFE IN THE SKIES? >> WELL, I LOVE FLYING. AND I KNOW THAT WE HAVE BUILT THE SAFEST MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE WORLD. BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT WE'VE STRETCHED THIS TO TH