A passenger on American Airlines flying to Los Angeles from Los Cabos in Mexico attacked a flight attendant. The incident took place on American Airlines flight 377 on Wednesday and was captured by a passenger on the same flight. When the video was uploaded on social media, it became viral.
The video shows a male flight attendant asking the passenger, "Are you threatening me?"
As he turns around and walks up the aisle, the passenger runs up from behind and hits the flight attendant at the back of the head with his fist.
Other passengers are heard screaming "Oh my God" in the clip.
One passenger says, "What are you doing?"
An airhostess comes to the rescue of the flight attendant and is knocked down.
The plane landed at Los Angeles airport and the passenger was immediately removed by officials of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to The Washington Post.
The passenger was arrested and banned for life from taking this airline services.
The New York Times said that the episode began 20 minutes after Flight 377 left Los Cabos airport.
Watch the video below:
According to The US Justice Department, the attacker is 33-year-old Alexander Tung Cuu Le, a resident of California. He has been charged with one count of interference with flight crew members, said the New York Times, adding that he could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Citing an affidavit filed by the FBI, the outlet said that Mr. Le grabbed a flight attendant's shoulder as he was providing food and beverages and asked for coffee. He then walked to the front of the plant and sat in an unoccupied row near the first-class cabin, according to the affidavit.
When another flight attendant asked Mr Le to return to his seat, he closed both of his fists and assumed a fighting stance, the FBI said. The flight attendant then decided to report the behaviour to the pilot and turned around after which Mr Le attacked him.
American Airlines later issued a statement in which it said, "Acts of violence against our team members are not tolerated by American Airlines. The individual involved in this incident will never be allowed to travel with us in the future, and we will work closely with law enforcement in their investigation."
Airlines also thanked the crew members and said that they are ready to give them the support they need.
