A man from Northern California was taken into custody after purportedly assaulting flight attendants on a Frontier Airlines flight headed to San Francisco, causing the plane to redirect to another airport, according to federal authorities on Thursday. The 30-year-old man from Fremont has been charged with interfering with flight crew members and attendants, as confirmed by the U.S. Justice Department in a press release. The arrest took place on Wednesday.
The individual reportedly yelled obscenities at the flight attendants, made an attempt to strangle one of them, kicked another attendant, and issued threats to harm everyone on the flight that departed from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana on September 9. Other passengers came to the aid of the crew in subduing the man, leading to the decision to divert the flight to Ontario International Airport as the crew deemed it unsafe to try to secure him back in his seat. If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
