Man attempts to storm cockpit, strangles and kicks flight attendant
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
There is a video at the seed link
A man attempted to storm the cockpit of a JetBlue flight on Wednesday evening and then proceeded to kick and choke members of the flight crew, according to an FBI affidavit.
With a little more than an hour left in the flight from Boston to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the man attempted to make a phone call and "became angry about the call's unsuccess," a flight attendant told the FBI. Thirty minutes later he allegedly rushed toward the cockpit, shouting in Spanish and Arabic to be shot.
A flight attendant was able to get the man "corralled" back into the passenger seating area until a pilot decided to open the flight deck door.
In the incident, first reported by The Daily Beast, the unruly passenger grabbed the flight attendant by their collar and tie with one hand, and placed his other hand on the overhead compartment in an attempt to gain leverage before kicking the flight attendant in the chest, according to the affidavit.
As he was allegedly attacking the crew, he shouted again for the pilot to shoot him.
"While he was yelling, he was still holding the JetBlue flight attendant by their tie," the affidavit said. "This resulted in the tie tightening and ultimately prevented the JetBlue flight attendant from breathing."
Eventually six or seven crew members were able to gain control of the man using flex cuffs. However, the man broke out of the first pair of flex cuffs and the crew needed to use four seat-belt extenders, a new pair of flex cuffs and a uniform neck tie to restrain him to a seat.
The plane landed safely in San Juan where the man was taken into custody. He now faces felony charges of interfering with a flight crew.
This year alone, more than 4,300 unruly passenger incidents have been reported to the Federal Aviation Administration.
JetBlue did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
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Maybe they will have to sedate all passengers upon entering the plane.
I'm all for a good sedative before you even get me to the airport. I hate flying but what I really hate are airports where you can't escape for a smoke
I love the idea of an industry-wide public listing of those banned due to inexcusable behavior. Public updates on their court cases would be an added bonus.
I remember some of the senior mamas talking about pre-deregulation vs post deregulation and the extreme difference in the caliber of airline passengers. I wonder what some of those gals would say about the caliber of airline passengers now. They would probably lobby for the addition of brass knuckles and duct tape to the required F/A equipment list.
I hate flying. I hate people that have to pack all their shit in 2 carry-ons and then have to stuff them in the overheads...then I'm seated in the back and have to wait for all these cheapskates to put their bags up and then wait again for all the cheapskates to take them back down. Deplaning shouldn't take more than 5 minutes but it takes 20 because of cheapskates