- Keith Edward Fagiana was aboard AA Flight 1497 departing Fort Worth, Texas for Bozeman, Montana, on Wednesday when the incident occurred
- The plane had to make an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas and Fagiana was handcuffed and removed from the plane
- He is accused of interfering with the flight crew; If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison
- Anyone with information, please email [email protected]
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This is the moment an American Airlines passenger is escorted off a flight after punching and spitting in the attendant’s face, forcing the plane to be diverted.
The bizarre ordeal occurred Wednesday when pilots had to make an emergency landing at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport around 2:20 p.m. after an unruly passenger, identified as Keith Edward Fagiana, spoke out.
Fagiana was on Flight 1497 departing Fort Worth, Texas en route to Bozeman, Montana, when he allegedly punched a flight attendant in the face, kicked a police officer in the groin and spit on other assisting officers.
Some passengers had to intervene and restrain the man before he was handcuffed and removed from the plane.
According to an officer, Fagiana said he had no memory of the flight but “admitted to drinking a few Captain Morgans” – a brand of rum – in bars before the flight. Associated press reported.
He is accused of interfering with the flight crew. If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison.
Fagiana will make her first appearance in federal court on Monday.
Officers approach the unruly passenger, identified as Keith Edwards Fagiana, after the pilots had to make an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas
The passenger had punched the flight attendant in the face and kicked one of the police officers in the groin
According to a flight attendant, a passenger on the plane had complained that Fagiana was kicking their seat in a very aggressive manner.
When the male flight attendant approached the passenger and asked him to stop, the man became violent.
He reportedly swore before punching the flight attendant in the stomach and then continued to punch him at least three times, the news outlet said reported.
Another passenger who captured footage of the harrowing event captured the flight attendant shouting at Fagiana: “Stop, stop, stop. What are you doing?’
She also said he hit his head on the window, ABC-7 News reported.
During the ordeal, some passengers jumped in and tried to restrain the man while the flight attendant placed flexible cuffs on Fagiana before the plane landed.
Fagiana also spat on some assisting officers as they removed him from the plane during the harrowing ordeal which took place on Wednesday afternoon.
Keith Edward Fagiana (pictured) is charged with interfering with a flight crew. If convicted, he could face 20 years in prison
The graph shows 2021 as the highest number of unruly passengers flying through the friendly skies, with a reported 5,973 incidents. According to the FAA, 2,075 incidents were reported in 2023
According to an FBI agent’s testimony, Fagiana spat at the officers and kicked one of them as they handcuffed him. They also put a ‘spit mask’ on his face.
On Friday, the FBI agent’s testimony was contained in unsealed court documents.
It remains unclear whether Fagiana has legal advice.
In 2023, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration.
A decrease compared to 2022, when 3,439 incidents were reported.
The highest number of unruly passenger incidents occurred in 2021 when there were 5,973, compared to the pre-Covid days of 2019 when there were only 1,161 reports and only 889 incidents in 2018.
