A Frontier Airlines flight from Orange County, California, to San Francisco was forced to make an emergency landing in Ontario, California, after a passenger physically assaulted a flight attendant.
The incident, which occurred on September 9, 2024, involved a man identified as Charles Angel Salva.
According to news reports, Salva began exhibiting disruptive behavior during the flight and making threats.
“Salva allegedly began yelling obscenities at flight attendants and said ‘this airplane is going down,'” the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a report.
The incident began when Salva reportedly began tampering with the aircraft’s oxygen masks.
When crew members tried to detail Salva, he attempted to choke one of them and left marks on his neck.
The man later broke free of his flex cuffs and had to be restrained by a seatbelt. At one point the report alleges that Salva kicked a flight attendant six times in the leg, causing swelling.
The incident forced the plane to land at Ontario International Airport.