An American Airlines flight attendant was admitted to the hospital with broken bones in her face after a passenger attacked her Wednesday.
The flight attendant suffered fractures to her face because a passenger struck her after colliding with him
The assault occurred on Flight 976 from New York’s John F.
Kennedy International Airport to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. Following the incident, the plane was diverted to Denver and the passenger was detained, American Airlines said.
The flight attendant had collided with the passenger, who got up from her seat and punched her twice in the face in front of the galley, said officials with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, who cited witnesses on the plane, CBSLA reported .
One witness, Mackenzie Rose, told the news outlet that the flight attendant came back down the aisle and had “blood splatter on the outside of her mask.”
Another witness said there was a doctor on the flight who assessed the injury and said the attendant’s nose was not broken, but was bleeding, ABC News reported .
Julie Hedrick, president of the APFA, said the attendant initially apologized to the passenger after she bumped into him in the first-class cabin, but that did not stop him from attacking her, The Washington Post reported .
The assault was “one of the worst demonstrations of out-of-control behavior we have ever witnessed,” Doug Parker, chief executive of American Airlines, said in a video statement Thursday.
The offending passenger was banned from flying with the airline, said Parker, who added that a travel ban “is not enough” as a punishment.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure he is prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
