An American Airlines passenger is in custody and banned for life from the airline after he was filmed sucker-punching a flight attendant on a trip from Mexico to California.
Alexander Tung Cuu Le, from Orange County, was arrested on Wednesday once the plane landed in Los Angeles, CBS News reports.
On Sept. 21, Alexander was reportedly flying to the Los Angeles International Airport from Mexico. Shortly after takeoff, Alexander allegedly got physical with a flight attendant after asking for coffee.
The DOJ said Alexander “loitered” near the front of the plane and sat in an unoccupied aisle for a while before being asked to return to his seat. When a flight attendant asked Alexander to go back to his seat, he allegedly stood up and assumed a fighting stance.
Alexander allegedly fled to the back of the plane following the assault but was restrained by several other passengers. Alexander‘s hands and feet had to be cuffed, according to the DOJ.
Watch the video below:
Violence in the air: a friend was travelling from Cabo to LAX, when a passenger hit a flight attendant for not letting use him the first class bathroom. He was later restrained by other passengers and arrested upon touchdown. The video shot was by Barrie Livingstone pic.twitter.com/PntVqWyWs9
— Saad Mohseni (@saadmohseni) September 22, 2022
CBS News has more details of this incident:
A passenger who allegedly punched a flight attendant in the back of the head during an American Airlines flight from Mexico to Los Angeles was taken into custody after the plane landed Wednesday, CBS Los Angeles reports.
The carrier said in a statement that the incident happened on Flight 377 from San José del Cabo to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The FBI, which is handling the investigation since the alleged assault happened in-flight, said 33-year-old Alexander Tung Cuu Le, of Westminster, California, was detained on suspicion of interfering with a flight crew, a federal offense.
The Association of Professional Flight attendants, a union that represents more than 24,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, also responded publicly to the alleged assault in a statement released on Thursday. The organization called the incident “dangerous,” “life-threatening” and part of a pattern of similar situations that put flight attendants at risk.
“This violent behavior puts the safety of all passengers and crew in jeopardy and must stop,” said Julie Hendrick, the national president of AFPA. “APFA fully supports the affected crew members, and will do all possible to ensure that the passenger faces prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to CBS News, American Airlines barred Alexander from future travel, the airline said, he “will never be allowed to travel with us in the future.”
Sources: TheGatewayPundit, CBS News