Flight attendant in court over coke bust

Judge and gavel in courtroom

A US flight attendant and former sprinter has appeared in federal court in New York, six days after authorities say she dropped a bag containing almost 32kg of cocaine at Los Angeles International Airport, took off her shoes and dashed away.

Marsha Reynolds, 31, of Queens, is charged with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.

A US magistrate judge in Brooklyn granted her release on a $US500,000 ($A664,500) bond but put the order on hold until Friday to allow a judge in California, where she would face trial, to weigh in.

The JetBlue Airways employee, a college sprinter and a former beauty pageant contestant, was randomly selected for additional security screening on Friday evening at Los Angeles Airport.

A Transportation Security Administration employee told an FBI agent Reynolds made a phone call and spoke in a foreign language. After she was escorted to a screening area, she dropped her luggage, took off her shoes and sprinted out of the terminal.

She was not pursued.

Reynolds later turned herself in to federal agents at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.

A spokesman for the family told reporters there was “more to the story” and that additional facts would emerge as the case proceeded.

JetBlue representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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