A man aboard a Newark-bound flight is accused of taking off his shirt and pinning a flight attendant against an exit door while shouting “epithets and threats of physical violence,” federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Kedus Yacob Damtew, 38, was charged in Newark federal court with one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants by assault or intimidation, Philip R. Sellinger, the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, said in a news release.
The incident unfolded earlier this year, according to the criminal complaint.
Damtew was a passenger on United Airlines flight 2732, arriving at Newark International Airport from Houston, Texas, when a “conversation” with a flight attendant turned violent.
Shortly before landing, Damtew allegedly removed his shirt before pushing his bare chest into the flight attendant’s chest and pinning the victim against the exit door.
He’s also accused of shouting at the flight attendant — at such proximity that the victim’s face became “covered in saliva” — and punching an aircraft oven, according to the affidavit.
Damtew then followed the flight attendant to the rear of the aircraft, still shouting epithets and threats of physical violence, and “threw a cup of water,” investigators said
After a second flight attendant requested assistance over the plane’s public address system, several passengers managed to help secure Damtew in flex cuffs in the plane’s last row until it landed in Newark.
As a result of Damtew’s, conduct flight attendants couldn’t properly complete pre-landing duties and the pilot was “unable to complete standard safety cross-checks before landing,” the affidavit further states.
Damtew was charged with interference with flight crew members by assault or intimidation, Sellinger said Tuesday. He appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C. earlier this month and was released pending a court appearance.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
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