Passengers on board a Continental flight bound for Houston stepped in to help a flight attendant who was involved in a fight with an unruly passenger.

Many passengers said they did not know exactly what was going on Continental flight 1113 Tuesday.

"All of a sudden, a flight attendant raced," said Nancy Haywood, a passenger on the flight. "I was in first class, and she raced down to the middle of economy. I leaned in and saw a lot of men getting up, and she raced back up to the kitchen area got some plastic handcuffs."

Haywood said she was not exactly sure what was going on, but she saw two Middle Eastern men yelling and a group of men huddling over him.

Haywood said the men were first upset because their seats were not next to each other. She said one of the men then lit up an electronic cigarette on board the flight.

"The flight attendant went and asked him to give it up. She said, 'No smoking on the plane,' and he became very belligerent. That is when these men got up again, put the handcuffs on him and the ankle cuffs," Haywood said.

The plane turned around and headed back to Portland. Federal agents took the two men into custody.

Yazeed Mohammed Abunayyan, 19, was charged with one count of interfering with a flight crew. The second man was not charged.

Abunayyan appeared in court Wednesday afternoon to hear the charges and was assigned an interpreter who translated the proceedings into Arabic. His attorney, Phil Lewis, said in court that he needs more time to meet with Abunayyan before he enters a plea.

"His English is not good enough," Lewis said. "I'm unable to ascertain issues of competence."

Continental Airlines said it turned the plane around because one passenger refused to obey the no smoking sign. Continental and United airlines does not allow any cigarettes on board, including electronic or smokeless ones.