Passengers and crew members on the American Airlines flight restrained the passenger who was caught on video slugging a flight attendant.
Passengers and crew members on an American Airlines flight restrained a passenger who wasVideo shared on social media shows a man in an orange, tropical print shirt suddenly run up and punch the flight attendant in the back of the head on the Wednesday flight from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to Los Angeles.
The FBI identified the suspect as 33-year-old Alexander Tung Cuu Le of Westminster, California. He was detained by FBI agents after the plane landed for suspicion of interference with a flight crew. Le was charged Thursday in federal court in California, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. A spokesman for Fort Worth-based American Airlines said the man has been permanently banned from flying with the carrier.
Charging documents said the confrontation started about 20 minutes after the plane took off when Le approached a female flight attendant, grabbed her by the shoulder and asked for coffee. The passenger then grabbed the flight attendant by both shoulders and she stepped back and put her hands up “in a defensive posture,” the documents said.