Hostie whacks passenger with wine bottles in mid-flight brawl

Hostie whacks passenger with wine bottles in mid-flight brawl

A hectic brawl took place on a recent Delta Airlines flight from Seattle to Beijing, which resulted in an aggressive passenger being belted over the head with a couple of wine bottles.

Just your average long-haul flight, right?

A detailed criminal complaint was, per Pedestrian.TV, lodged against passenger Joseph Hudek IV, who apparently tried to open an emergency exit mid-flight, forcing the plane to turn back after a brawl broke out to restrain him.

According to the report, Hudek was travelling on a “dependent” pass up in first class, which basically means he was probably related to someone who worked for the airline – that should make things awkward.

He had one beer, per the report, then got up to use the bathroom. He came back out, asked a flight attendant a question, then went back into the bathroom.

The report then states that about two minutes later, “Hudek exited the lavatory and lunged toward the right forward exit door of the aircraft, grabbed the handle, and attempted to open it.”

Per Pedestrian, two hosties tried to restrain him but he didn’t let up, and kept trying to open the door, so other passengers got involved in the attempt to stop him.

The report claims Hudek punched the crew and passengers trying to restrain him, before hitting another passenger with a wine bottle.

So another flight attendant is said to have grabbed two other wine bottles and “struck Hudek over the head with each, breaking at least one.”

Hudek reportedly responded to being struck with the bottle by saying, “Do you know who I am?”

He was eventually restrained, with a number of passengers required to subdue him using zip-ties, but he continued to struggle and remained “extremely combative” all the way back to Seattle, where police were waiting for him.

Per Pedestrian, if he’s convicted, the 23-year-old faces as many as 20 years behind bars, plus a mammoth $250,000 fine.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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