JetBlue passenger arrested for threatening to destroy an aircraft
A JetBlue passenger has been arrested and faces federal charges after allegedly punching a flight attendant and threatening to blow up a plane.
Alija Kucuk, aged 29 from Middle Village in Queens, New York, was seen running down the aisle and pushed other flight attendants out of the way during the flight from New York JFK to Palm Beach International Airport.
Another flight attendant, Whitney Rolle, attempted to calm Kucuk down but was punched in the face, authorities said.
"The altercation that transpired between Alija Kucuk and Whitney Rolle included verbal epithets and racial slurs by Alija Kucuk. During this time, he also yelled he would blow up the plane," according to a report by FBI Special Agent Robert McGuire.
He was restrained for the rest of the flight and met by law enforcement officers on arrival.
Kucuk has been charged with interfering with a flight attendant and threatening to destroy an aircraft.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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