A Las Vegas man who called crew and passengers on a flight on Monday will have to answer to a judge for public poisoning and cause commotion.
Snarling like a dog when taking off and putting on his mask, he made the obscene gesture with his middle finger and uttered the cries “God bless the United States” and “Joe Biden,” according to a video taken by passenger Dennis Busch .
The incident happened on a flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. Busch denounced on Facebook that the man verbally attacked an Asian woman by saying that she and her companion “have no right to be here.”
The 61-year-old man was arrested at the door after being discharged from a hospital and handed a summons to the court, authorities said. The court documents did not mention whether he had a lawyer.
American Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement, in which it thanked the crew for their professionalism and the passengers for their understanding.
Riot plane passengers have amassed $ 1 million in potential fines so far this year, a record figure.
Airlines had reported about 3,900 incidents as of mid-August. In 75% of cases it was the refusal to wear the mask, and a common factor was alcohol consumption, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).