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(Trends Wide) — A coast-to-coast flight was diverted to Denver Wednesday night after a passenger “physically assaulted a flight attendant,” American Airlines said in a statement.
Flight 976, which departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Santa Ana, California, landed safely in Denver, where police “removed and detained the passenger,” the airline said.
A source familiar with the details of the incident said “the attack was unprovoked,” adding that the passenger went to the back of the plane and hit the flight attendant twice in the face and broke her nose.
The American Airlines director says Wednesday’s incident “is one of the worst displays of rebellious behavior we have witnessed.”
In a video statement posted on social media, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said he supports the injured attendant and will ban the man accused of assaulting her from flying on the airline again.
“That’s not enough,” Parker said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that it is processed to the fullest extent possible.”
The FBI said it is investigating the incident. The agency said no arrests have been made and its investigation is ongoing.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Thursday that it will also investigate the incident.
American Airlines is working with authorities, according to airline spokesman Curtis Blessing. “We are outraged by the reports of what happened on board,” Blessing said.
Earlier this year, the FAA adopted a zero-tolerance policy for unruly passengers on board the flight. The agency said in August that it had issued more than $ 1 million in fines to unruly passengers in 2021.
One passenger was fined US $ 45,000 in August for being accused of throwing his luggage at another passenger and, while lying on the aisle floor, “grabbed a flight attendant by the ankles and stuck her head up her skirt.”
In its latest update, the FAA said there had been 4,941 reports of unruly passengers this year.
A survey by the Flight Attendants Association published in July found that, of the 5,000 flight attendants surveyed, 85% said they had dealt with unruly passengers in 2021. Altered passengers had used sexist, racist and / or homophobic language, according to 61%, while 17% said they had been the victim of a physical attack this year.
