An American Airlines flight from Texas to Montana had to be diverted after a passenger allegedly punched a flight attendant who asked him to stop kicking fellow passengers’ seats.
Keith Edward Fagiana, of Las Vegas, was aboard Flight 1497 from Dallas to Bozeman on Wednesday when other passengers complained that he “violently kicked” their seats, WPDE reported.
When the male flight attendant told Fagiana to stop, he allegedly “shouted obscenities” at the crew and punched him four times in the stomach, according to the criminal complaint cited by the outlet.
The flight attendant and other passengers tracked down Fagiana and put her in a flexible cuff.
The pilot declared a level two threat at about 1:50 p.m. and diverted to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, where Fagiana was found by law enforcement and allegedly harassed the flight crew.
Polish Dazia passengers recorded video of Fagiana being taken off the flight, which landed at 2:20 p.m. and departed for Bozeman about 30 minutes later, according to ABC 7 Amarillo.
Keith Edward Fagiana was arrested after allegedly swearing at and punching a flight attendant who told him to stop kicking the chair in front of him. Randall County Jail
Poland said another passenger told him Fagiana spat on people, adding that he saw him bang his head against the window.
Fagiana complained that the flexible cuffs were painful, but when airport police removed plastic restraints to replace them with regular handcuffs, he allegedly kicked a police officer in the groin and spat at another officer, WPDE reported, citing the complaint.
He admitted to fighting with officers because he did not want to be arrested, according to the outlet.
American Airlines passenger Keith Edward Fagiana was removed from the flight after he allegedly punched a flight attendant four times. Dazia Poland
Fagiana told the FBI he did not remember what happened on the plane but admitted that he drank Captain Morgan rum at various bars before the flight.
“Acts of terrorism are not tolerated by American Airlines and we are committed to working closely with law enforcement in their investigation,” American Airlines told ABC 7.
A spokesperson for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants told Fox 4 in a statement: “Yesterday, another Flight Attendant was assaulted by a customer. Our priority is to take care of the affected crew. This violent behavior must stop.”
Fagiana was accused of harassing the flight crew. Dazia Poland
The FBI and FAA are investigating the incident.
Ron McCallum, a pilot and aviation attorney not involved in the case, told Fox 4 that the incident should have been a crime.
“Convictions under federal law can bring with them not only fines and penalties, but very severe and lengthy prison terms,” he told the outlet.
“In this case, it escalated to violence. That’s a crime under federal law,” McCallum added.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
