Man charged with assaulting American Airlines flight attendant – KIRO 7 News Seattle

DENVER – Authorities charged a California man with assaulting an American Airlines flight attendant on a flight from New York City to Santa Ana, California last week, investigators said.

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Brian Hsu, 20, of Irvine, is charged with flight crew interference and personal injury within a special US aircraft jurisdiction. He appeared in court on Monday where a judge ordered his release on a $ 10,000 bond, KMGH-TV reported.

In an affidavit filed in court, investigators said Hsu was accused of assaulting a woman who worked as a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 976. Three witnesses told the authorities that they saw Hsu meet the victim outside of the plane’s toilet. The victim and Hsu gave authorities different accounts of what happened during the October 27 flight.

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The victim told investigators that she spoke to another flight attendant when she felt something hit her on the head. When she turned to see what it was, she said she saw a passenger identified as Hsu and told her he had to go to the bathroom.

The victim said she told Hsu that the toilet was occupied and that he would have to return to his seat to wait for his turn. She said he then raised his arms as if to stretch and put his elbows on her head, causing her to assume a defensive stance, arms in front of her and hands up. She said Hsu seemed to give in at first before charging at her while flapping his arms. He seemed to back away a second time when another flight attendant tried to intervene before attacking her again and slapping her face with the closed fist of his right hand, she said.

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The victim reported nosebleeds, dizziness and nausea. A doctor later found that she had suffered a concussion. Due to the swelling, the doctor could not immediately determine whether her nose was broken, according to the affidavit.

Hsu told authorities that on October 27th, while waiting to use the toilet, he was stretching when he accidentally bumped the victim. He said she got excited and swung her hands with her hands against his head, which startled him because he was returning to California after undergoing surgery in Rhode Island to reconstruct parts of his skull.

He told investigators that he was injured in an attack in New York last year that caused psychological damage, including ringing in the ears, nausea, dizziness and loss of balance. He added that he remained sensitive to sound and that he sometimes experienced a mental “fog” that made thinking difficult. Under the circumstances, he feared a blow to the head could seriously injure him or even lead to his death.

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Authorities said Hsu claimed he retreated to his seat and raised his hands defensively, palms facing out. He said the victim then attacked him and smacked her nose against his palm. He added that his right hand was injured a few weeks before the flight, making it impossible for him to form a closed fist, authorities said.

After the victim was injured, another flight attendant pushed between Hsu and the victim, and Hsu said he sat back in his seat. Other people later held “his legs with brown tape and his hands with plastic cuffs,” according to the affidavit.

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Hsu’s mother, who was not identified on the court records, told authorities that her son was dizzy and appeared to be more easily upset after his attack in 2020. She added that after his last surgery, he had difficulty sitting still and had to stretch often. She said her son hit the victim while she was stretching and that the victim became angry and “ran towards him” according to the affidavit.

In a video recording posted to Instagram last week, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker described the incident as “one of the worst displays of recalcitrant behavior we have ever seen.”

“Let me assure you that American Airlines will not tolerate any wrongdoing at the airport or in flight, especially towards our crew or the airport team,” he said, adding that the airline has banned Hsu from traveling with the company again.

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“We are doing everything we can to ensure that he is prosecuted as much as possible. We also partner with the FAA, which has the authority to collect fines of up to $ 50,000 on disruptive passengers. That won’t just end with a travel ban. “

He praised the crew for their handling of the situation and promised that the injured flight attendant and other crew members on board would get “the support they need”.

The incident came as Federal Aviation Administration officials tracked a surge in reports of recalcitrant passengers on planes nationwide. As of January 1, the agency has received more than 5,030 reports of recalcitrant passengers and initiated 950 investigations. In 2020, officials opened 183 investigations, up from 146 investigations opened a year earlier.

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