An incident occurred on Monday on a Frontier Airlines flight bound for San Francisco that had to be redirected due to an individual from California allegedly attempting to choke a flight attendant and making threats to harm others. The man is now facing federal charges, according to authorities.
The 30-year-old Fremont resident Charles Angel Salva was charged with interfering with members of the flight crew and attendants during his initial court appearance on Wednesday, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office, Central District of California.
Shortly after takeoff from Orange County, California, flight attendants discovered that oxygen masks in one row of the plane had fallen out of their respective overhead compartments as the jet was climbing. The US Attorney’s Office stated that flight attendants found Salva’s hand in the overhead compartment during their investigation.
A witness said authorities that Salva was “claustrophobic” and “seemed like he wanted to get off the plane,” according to the US Attorney’s Office, who also noted that the guy got his hand stuck in the overhead compartment after removing the gas mask from it.
According to the press release, Salva allegedly shouted vulgarities at flight attendants and proclaimed, “We are all going to hell” and “This airplane is going down” during the incident.
“Passengers helped restrain Salva, who broke out of flex cuffs and had to be restrained by a seatbelt,” the release said. “During the incident, Salva kicked one flight attendant approximately six times in the leg, causing apparent bruising and swelling, which required medical attention.”
He allegedly tried to choke the flight attendant, and the US Attorney’s Office reports that she also suffered minor injuries to the neck.
According to the press announcement, the flight was redirected to California’s Ontario International Airport because the flight crew felt unsafe attempting to reposition Salva in his seat.
Following the crew’s report of a passenger disturbance, the FAA informed CNN that it would examine the incident and confirmed the flight’s safe landing in Ontario International Airport at approximately 6 p.m.
Salva could spend up to twenty years behind bars if found guilty of interfering with the flight crew, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The US Marshals Service is presently detaining Salva, according to court records. September 26 is the date of his preliminary hearing.
