This is the shocking moment an airline pilot punched his female co-worker outside a passenger plane.
CCTV footage shows the Republic Airways pilot walk aggressively towards his colleague before she slaps him across the face.
He responds by punching her violently in the stomach and hitting her into a wall.
The disturbing incident reportedly took place at Denver International Airport in Colorado last month.
The security video was leaked by website FlyerTalk and is now the centre of a police investigation.
Both employees have since been sacked, the airline confirmed.
"We are aware of a situation that occurred last month involving two of our employees," a spokesman for Republic Airways told ABC News.
"We investigated this matter and took appropriate action consistent with our belief that such behaviour is unacceptable."
There were no passengers on the aircraft at the time, the spokesman added.
The employees, identified as William Thomas, 36, and Marisha Sporer, 29, were arrested and charged with assault and disturbing the peace, according to ABC News.
The pair had been in an intimate relationship since November, but things reportedly turned sour when Sporer saw something she didn’t like on Thomas' mobile phone, according to a police arrest statement.
"They both agreed to break up so Thomas went onto the plane and sat in the cock-pit and Sporer went to the gate," the Denver police affidavit explained.
"Sporer became angry and went onto the plane to confront Thomas. Sporer grabbed Thomas by the neck tie and slapped him in the face with an open hand three times.
“Thomas retaliated by grabbing Sporer and striking her in the ribs with a closed fist."
They are both scheduled to appear in court next week.
