‘Aggressive’ passenger allegedly pinned flight attendant against door
An “aggressive” American Airlines passenger is being taken to court after assaulting two flight attendants – including pinning one against the cockpit door – according to court documents.
Robert David Croizat was on a flight from Barbados to Miami on March 8 when he confronted a flight attendant for being “rude to him” over the way the flight attendant told him only vegetarian meals were being served in first class, according to a filed complaint.
American Airlines did not respond immediately to comment.
The flight was nearly two hours in at that point, and Croizat reportedly had had two drinks.
Another flight attendant stepped in to instruct Croizat to return to his seat. Croizat “aggressively, demandingly, and loudly ordered the flight attendants” to get the captain, the complaint read, while continuing to refuse flight crew orders to sit down.
The “heated exchange” escalated and Croizat pushed a third flight attendant twice on the shoulder, which was captured on video by another passenger. The flight attendant called the captain for help, who reported the incident to air traffic control.
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According to the complaint, Croizat “briefly pinned” the second flight attendant against the cockpit door. The flight attendant told law enforcement that passengers were telling Croizat to sit down but he “refused and continued to be disruptive.”
Another passenger grabbed and forced Croizat back into his seat, where he remained until the flight landed at 6:49 p.m. EDT.
The second flight attendant put the service cart between the cockpit and cabin to prevent Croizat from trying to break into the cockpit, according to the complaint.
Croizat was arrested upon arrival in Miami. On May 10, a trial was held for Croizat in which the judge changed the charge to misdemeanor assault, according to Croizat’s attorney Barry Wax. Croizat pleaded guilty, served time for the couple of days after he was arrested and paid a fine of $5,000.
Wax said the criminal complaint was “embellished” and “not accurate.”
“Robert never ‘stormed the cockpit.’ This was basically just a matter of him getting into a disagreement with a flight attendant who he felt treated him disrespectfully,” Wax said.
This incident is the latest in a string of unruly passengers. On Sunday, a passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight struck a flight attendant with the intercom phone.
So far, there have been 670 reports in 2023, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Last year, there were 2,455.
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Unruly airlines passenger charged with assaulting flight attendant
