A United Airlines plane made an emergency landing due to an incident with a Russian woman on board. 37-year-old Kristina Kedysheva was served several alcoholic drinks during the flight, after which she demanded more and refused to comply with the crew’s request to remain seat belted. When flight attendants tried to restrain her, the woman allegedly bit one of the employees on the wrist and kicked her in the stomach, and also scratched another passenger, who later required medical attention, the New York Post reported.
A Boeing 777 flying from Milan to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey made an unscheduled landing in Bangor, Maine, on Tuesday. There were 274 passengers and 13 crew members on board.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was notified of the incident around 11:40 local time. The report was about a passenger who was “attacking flight attendants” and “disobeying crew demands.”
According to a senior flight attendant who testified to investigators, Kedysheva was flying first class and was in the front part of the cabin. At the beginning of the flight, she was served several alcoholic drinks. The passenger herself later admitted that she drank a couple of glasses of red wine and whiskey and cola.
After the staff refused to bring her another drink, Kedysheva, according to investigators, began to behave aggressively, stood up from her seat and grabbed the door handle at the back of the plane. It took the help of five crew members and passengers to hold her down. The woman allegedly continued to resist for about three hours.
During an attempt to pacify the violent passenger, the flight attendant was injured – Kedysheva bit her on the wrist and kicked her in the stomach. The employee fell and suffered a shoulder injury. A passenger who was scratched by Kedysheva in an attempt to resist also required medical assistance.
After landing in Bangor, Kedysheva was detained by US Customs and Border Protection officers. During interrogation, the woman said that she was heading to New York to celebrate her friend’s 40th birthday. Kedysheva claimed that crew members treated her rudely, and one of them took her mobile phone, with which she was filming the conflict taking place on board.
The detainee denied that she tried to open the plane's door or threatened the crew members. At the same time, she admitted that she could have scratched the people nearby, since “everything happened too quickly.”
On Wednesday, Kedysheva appeared in court in Penobscot County in Maine. She was charged with one count of interfering with a flight crew and one count of assault. For the latest offense, she could face a fine of up to $43,000.
