Passenger arrested on California flight after trying to choke flight attendant and saying plane 'going down' on California flight, DOJ says | CNN

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A California man faces federal charges after he allegedly tried to choke a flight attendant and “said he was going to kill everybody” while on board a Frontier Airlines flight to San Francisco, authorities said.

Charles Angel Salva, 30, of Fairmont, made an initial court appearance Wednesday and was charged with interfering with flight crew members and attendants, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

The plane was climbing shortly after takeoff from Orange County, California, when flight attendants noticed that oxygen masks in one of the plane's rows were outside the overhead compartment. “Flight attendants investigated and discovered that Salva had his hands in the overhead compartment,” the US Attorney's Office said.

A passenger told law enforcement that Salva was “claustrophobic” and “looked like he wanted to get off the plane,” the U.S. Attorney's Office said, adding that the man got his hands stuck in the overhead compartment after pulling on an oxygen mask. from there

During the incident, Salva yelled obscenities at flight attendants and allegedly said, “We're all going to hell,” and “this plane is going down,” the release said.

“Passengers helped restrain Salva, who came out of the flex cuff and had to be restrained by the seatbelt,” the statement said. “During the incident, Salva kicked a flight attendant approximately six times in the leg, causing apparent bruising and swelling, which required medical attention.”

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the flight attendant he tried to choke was also left with small marks on his throat.

Flight attendants did not feel safe trying to return Salva to his seat and the flight was diverted to Ontario International Airport, the release said.

CNN has reached out to Salver's attorney for comment and Frontier Airlines for more information.

If convicted, Salva faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Salva is currently in the custody of the US Marshals Service, according to court records. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 26.

The FBI and Ontario Police Department are investigating the incident.

In 2021, the US Federal Aviation Administration announced that they would introduce a zero-tolerance policy for misbehaving fliers on airplanes.

That year, passengers were issued fines for various incidents on planes across the United States, including one passenger who tried to enter the plane's cockpit and had to be restrained, and another who punched a flight attendant in the face, sending them to the hospital. . Even the most serious cases of in-flight mischief are reported to the judiciary.

The single highest individual fine, $40,823, was issued for a traveler who brought their own alcohol on board, was intoxicated, tried to smoke marijuana in the restroom and sexually assaulted a flight attendant – all on a single flight.