A heroic former high school football player restrained a Breeze Airways passenger during a racist mid-air meltdown by picking him up like a toddler and plonking him in his seat.

David Leroy Carter, 46, allegedly yelled racial slurs and swung a skateboard and belt at flight attendants and fellow passengers during Los Angeles bound Flight MX704.

Witnesses say Carter dropped 'F-bombs and N-bombs' as he waved his board and acted violently towards others on-board. He also allegedly threw trash on the aircraft floor.

Footage captured from inside the cabin shows how Carter, with a smile plastered on his face, ignored orders from a flight attendant desperately begging him to sit down.

'You need to sit down,' the flight attendant said, as the unruly passenger pushed past her down the aisle. 'You need to sit down.'