An American Airlines passenger attacked a crew member mid-flight and dragged them up the plane aisle, prosecutors allege.
Julius Jordan Priester, 24, of Kansas, was arrested and charged with the assault of a crew member on a Chicago-bound flight Tuesday night, according to the Department of Justice.
His alleged act of violence occurred less than an hour after Flight 3359 departed Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut.
Prosecutors say Priester stood up, started removing his shirt, and ran to the back of the plane yelling ‘help me’.
He then grabbed a seated flight attendant and shouted ‘you’re coming with me’ as he ‘forcefully’ brought the crew member to the ground, prosecutors allege.
He then tried to drag the crew member up the aisle, but several other passengers stepped in and were able to get Priester back to his seat.
The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing and return to Bradley Airport, where Priester was arrested.
Priester, who remains detained pending a bond hearing today, faces a maximum term of 20 years of imprisonment if convicted.
Julius Jordan Priester, 24, of Kansas, was arrested and charged with assault of a crew member on a Chicago-bound American Airlines flight Tuesday night (file photo of American Airlines planes at Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut)
The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing and return to Bradley Airport in Hartford, Connecticut. Flight tracking data shows the plane safely landed at 10:46pm
Flight 3359 departed Bradley Airport for Chicago O’Hare at 9:26pm Tuesday, but was forced to land back in Connecticut just 1 hour and 20 minutes later.
The alleged assault occurred about ’30 minutes to an hour into the flight’, according to the DOJ.
Despite passengers having helped Priester return to his seat after the attack, prosecutors allege that he continued to act erratically and make incoherent remarks.
His behavior prompted the captain to declare an emergency and divert the plane back to Hartford, with flight tracking data showing that it landed safely at 10:46pm.
Priester was removed from the plane by Connecticut State Police and transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
He appeared before a judge on Wednesday and is scheduled back in court today.
Priester is charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
American Airlines, in a statement to Daily Mail, confirmed the flight was diverted ‘due to a disruptive customer’, saying: ‘We do not tolerate violence, and we thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their assistance.’
This incident remains under investigation by the FBI and Connecticut State Police.
Priester was removed from the plane at Bradley International Airport by Connecticut State Police and transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation (file photo)
The alleged assault on Flight 3359 is just the latest in a string of violent incidents involving by airline passengers.
An Allegiant Airlines passenger was charged with child abuse earlier this week after attacking a boy who called her ‘Miss Piggy’ on a flight home from Disney World, according to police.
Kristy Crampton was part of a group returning home to Maryland from the resort in Florida on Monday when she was arrested at Sanford-Orlando International Airport.
Crampton started throwing punches at the child just before takeoff after he allegedly called her ‘fat’ and referred to her as the Muppets character, an arrest report said.
Witnesses told officers that she punched the unknown boy and then hit him with a water bottle before slamming his head into an airplane window, the report said.
The pilot of the flight, destined for Hagerstown in Maryland, called police onto the flight for help where she was then taken into custody at the gate.
An American Airlines flight had to divert back to Savannah in March when a passenger started throwing wild punches at flight attendants after claiming evil spirits followed him onto a flight.
Delange Augustin, 31, started lashing out just one minute into the Envoy Flight from Savannah, Georgia, to Miami, Florida, on March 10.
The alleged assault on AA Flight 3359 is just the latest in a string of violent incidents involving by airline passengers. Allegiant Airlines passenger Kristy Crampton (pictured in court) was charged with child abuse earlier this week after attacking a boy who called her ‘Miss Piggy’ on a flight home from Disney World, according to police.
An American Airlines flight had to divert back to Savannah in March when passenger Delange Augustin (pictured) started throwing wild punches at flight attendants after claiming evil spirits followed him onto the plane
He had been traveling with his sister who told authorities they were going to Haiti to ‘flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature’.
Shortly after take off, authorities say he kicked a staff member so hard in the chest he sent them over a row of seats and swallowed a set or rosary beads.
Footage of the violent incident showed him holding onto his sister – who told authorities after the ordeal that her brother had told her to pray as ‘Satan’s disciples had followed them onto the plane’.
Other passengers had to move into restrain Augustin, before authorities quickly boarded the flight after the pilot decided to return to Savannah.
And in February this year, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant had to restrain a crazed passenger who grabbed a woman’s hair onboard.
The bizarre incident happened on February 1 on Alaska Airlines Flight 2221 at California’s Oakland International Airport just before taking off for Portland, Oregon.
The erratic male passenger was seen being held back by an unnamed male flight attendant shortly after he latched on to the hair of a female passenger in front of him.
In February, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant had to restrain a crazed passenger who grabbed a woman’s hair onboard (pictured). The aircraft returned to the gate following the incident and the flight itself was cancelled
While the flight attendant punched the man several times, trying to get him to let go of the woman’s locks, other passengers tried to step in and help.
It is unclear exactly what sparked the male passenger’s abnormal behavior, but according to a man who said he was on the flight, ‘he was restrained for several minutes before being arrested’.
The aircraft returned to the gate following the incident and the flight itself was cancelled ‘after an attendant refused to fly and could not be replaced’, the passenger said.
