A woman assaulted a flight attendant in an American Airlines flight from Miami to New York City. The alleged altercation was between Chenasia I. Campbell and an American Airlines flight attendant. The incident happened midway through the American Airlines Flight 1357.
The flight left Miami before Saturday midnight and arrived at JFK International Airport at 2:14 am on Sunday. According to airline spokesman Curtis Blessing, “a customer who refused to comply with the federal mask requirement assaulted a crew member while in flight”. The statement added that “violence of any kind is not tolerated by American”.
Based on the complaint, Campbell left her seat and followed a flight attendant into the crew area. Yelling ensued saying and Campbell confronted the attendant for not pick up her garbage. Another flight attendant tried to intervene and the defendant accused the flight attendant of pushing her. Campbell then assaulted the flight attendant. She punched the intervening flight attendant and pulled the attendant’s hair.
The passenger later returned to the crew area after arguing with another passenger. Campbell stated “cops aren’t going to do anything to me” before punching the flight attendant again. The two ended up on the floor. Campbell also tried to remove the flight attendant’s dress.
Released on a $15,000 Bond
An off-duty New York City Police Department officer restrained Campbell until she was taken into custody in New York. The flight attendant “sustained scrapes to the arm and cheek, bruises to the forehead and leg…and a strained neck”.
Campbell appeared in court on Monday and paid a $15,000 bond for her release. James Darrow, Campbell’s defense lawyer, declined to give a statement.
The Federal Aviation Authority has a zero-tolerance policy in place since January 6. This was after the Capitol attack when Trump supporters were reportedly unruly in flights. The FAA has received 1,300 reports since February and the agency is looking to extend the zero-tolerance policy. Assaulting a flight attendant can potentially land you in jail. The zero-tolerance policy can land a violator in jail or pay a fine of as much as $35,000.
