American Airlines Passenger Accused of Attacking Flight Attendant Midway During Flight From Miami to New York

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The incident comes as the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is experiencing a spike in reports of unruly airplane passengers, and has received about 1,300 such reports since February, according to ABC News.

Flying the friendly skies didn’t apply on American Airlines Flight 1357, when a female passenger allegedly assaulted a flight attendant during a flight between Miami and New York, according to a complaint released by federal prosecutors, CNN reported.

Passenger Chensai I. Campbell allegedly attacked the flight attendant midway through the flight, requiring an off-duty police officer from the NYPD who happened to be on the plane to place the woman in hand restraints until she was taken into custody upon arrival in New York, according to the complaint.

In a statement, American Airlines said that "a customer who refused to comply with the federal face mask requirement assaulted a crew member while in flight," CNN reported.

”Violence of any kind is not tolerated by American," the statement said.

The complaint says Campbell left her seat and followed a flight attendant to a crew area, allegedly yelling at that attendant for not picking up her garbage. 

Another flight attendant tried to intervene, and Campbell accused that flight attendant of pushing her, according to the complaint. Campbell then struck the intervening flight attendant with closed fists and pulled the attendant's hair, according to the complaint.

The complaint further detailed how Campbell returned to the crew area after arguing with another passenger and allegedly stated that the "cops aren't going to do anything to me," before striking the flight attendant again with closed fists, causing the pair to fall to the floor. 

Campbell also tried to pull up or remove the flight attendant's dress, the complaint stated.

There was even a request for the captain to land the plane, which was denied, a report said. 

One of the flight attendants sustained injuries that included bruises to her face, arms and leg, and a strained neck, but refused additional medical assistance after JFK medical personal evaluated her, the complaint said. 

Campbell was accused of assaulting and intimidating a flight attendant, and accused of interfering with the performance of the duties of the flight attendant and lessening the ability to perform those duties, CNN reported. 

On Monday, Campbell appeared in court and was released on a $15,000 bond, according to the spokesperson for the prosecutors' office. 

When Inside Edition Digital reached out to James Darrow, of the Brooklyn Federal Public Defenders Office, who is representing Campbell, he was unavailable. 

It is not clear if Campbell has entered a plea at this time, People reported. 

The incident comes as the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is experiencing a spike in reports of unruly airplane passengers, and has received about 1,300 such reports since February, ABC News reported. 

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