Passengers and crew members on an American Airlines flight restrained a passenger who was caught on video slugging a flight attendant.
Video shared on social media shows a man in an orange, tropical print shirt suddenly run up and punch the flight attendant in the back of the head on the Wednesday flight from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to Los Angeles.
It came just after the male flight attendant confronted the man and asked: “Are you threatening me?” As the flight attendant turned and walked toward the front of the plane, the video shows the man charging toward him, throwing a punch at the back of the flight attendant’s head and then retreating to the back of the plane.
The FBI identified the suspect as 33-year-old Alexander Tung Cuu Le of Westminster, California. He was detained by FBI agents after the plane landed for suspicion of interference with a flight crew. Le was charged Thursday in federal court in California, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The incident happened on American Airlines Flight 377 on Wednesday from San Jose del Cabo Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, landing at 3:55 p.m. Pacific time.
A spokesman for Fort Worth-based American Airlines said the man has been permanently banned from flying with the carrier.
“Acts of violence against our team members are not tolerated by American Airlines,” spokesman Derek Walls said in a statement. “The individual involved in this incident will never be allowed to travel with us in the future, and we will work closely with law enforcement in their investigation.”
The president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union representing American’s 24,000 flight attendants, said the passenger had exhibited “dangerous, life-threatening behavior.”
“Thankfully, the crew and passengers subdued the passenger, and the flight landed safely,” said the union official, Julie Hedrick. “This violent behavior puts the safety of all passengers and crew in jeopardy and must stop.”
Charging documents said the confrontation started about 20 minutes after the plane took off when Le approached a female flight attendant, grabbed her by the shoulder and asked for coffee. The passenger then grabbed the flight attendant by both shoulders and she stepped back and put her hands up “in a defensive posture,” the documents said.
That’s when witnesses said Le went to sit in a seat near the bulkhead separating the economy and business class sections. The male flight attendant asked Le to return to his seat. Le assumed a fighting stance and swung at the flight attendant, missing him. When the flight attendant walked away to report the behavior to the pilot, Le rushed forward and punched the flight attendant, court documents said. Le then fled to the back of the aircraft.
Charging documents said several passengers helped restrain the suspect after the assault.
In the video, the flight attendant involved in the altercation got on the phone while another crew member retrieved restraint cuffs. A separate video on social media shows the man being cuffed to his seat with flex cuffs, a zip-tie-like device used by airlines to sometimes detain unruly passengers.
The flight attendant that was punched remained in the back galley for the one hour remaining in the flight and put ice on his head. He was transported to the hospital after landing, the charging documents said.
“We thank our crew for their quick action and professionalism to ensure the safety of their fellow team members and customers on board,” Walls said. “Our thoughts are with our injured flight attendant, and we are ensuring that they and their fellow crew members have the support they need at this time.”
The number of unruly passenger incidents such as this one have plummeted since face mask mandates for airplanes were dropped in April. Still, there have been nearly 2,000 reports of unruly passengers and 680 investigations initiated by the Federal Aviation Administration this year, far surpassing any year before 2021.
Last November, a woman was arrested at Dallas Love Field after punching a female flight attendant for Southwest Airlines during boarding. That passenger was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the assault.
