A 20-year-old Orange County man has been charged in federal court with interfering with a flight crew and assault. The charges stem from an alleged incident aboard an Oct. 27 American Airlines flight from New York to Santa Ana.
Brian Hsu of Irvine is alleged to have twice punched a female flight attendant in the face while the aircraft was on route from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Orange County’s John Wayne Airport. Officials with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants said Hsu struck the woman after she accidentally bumped into him while moving down the plane’s aisle.
The alleged assault forced the flight to land at Denver International Airport shortly after 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday. The flight attendant was sent to an area hospital to be treated for broken bones in her face, according to the APFA.
Passengers aboard the flight said she had “blood spattered on the outside of her mask” in the aftermath of the alleged attack.
Hsu was arrested at the gate in Denver and sent back to California at some point thereafter. He is expected to appear before a federal judge in Southern California for arraignment later on Monday.
This is a developing story.
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