A drunk Spirit Airlines passenger has been charged in the alleged midair assault of flight attendants who’d asked her to move seats, federal authorities said.
Amanda Renee Henry, 43, turned herself in to the FBI in Nashville on Tuesday after a warrant was issued in the wake of the Nov. 27 flight.
Henry had been sitting in the exit row on the flight from Fort Lauderdale to Nashville when she allegedly started making lewd sexual advances towards the two men sitting next to her, according to a criminal complaint.
The flight attendants told authorities that Henry appeared to be drunk and she became “irate and belligerent” when the two men asked to move seats.
Crew members decided to move Henry given she was sitting next to the emergency exit, the complaint said.
When one of the flight attendants asked her to move seats, Henry allegedly grabbed her carry-on bag and ran towards the front of the plane screaming: “I’m getting off this plane!”
Another crew member tried to restrain Henry after blocking her from reaching the main cabin door — but she started kicking and hitting the flight attendant, authorities said.
Henry also allegedly started punching another flight attendant who was helping to restrain her.
The two flight attendants managed to partly restrain Henry in a seat with zip ties before another passenger, who was an off-duty firefighter, offered to help calm her down.
The firefighter sat with Henry for the rest of the flight until they landed in Nashville and cops came onboard to arrest her, the complaint said.
Henry was charged at the time by Nashville police with public intoxication.
She is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charge of federal interfering with a flight crew.
News of Henry’s charges come as part of a disturbing trend of bad mid-flight behavior, including from a woman dubbed “Delta Karen” for going berserk last week.