A fight over a reclined seat was what forced an American Airlines flight to divert to Boston on Wednesday night, federal and local prosecutors said Thursday, just days after a heated fight over a seat recliner forced a United Airlines flight to divert earlier in the week.
A French man who was on the American flight en route from Miami to Paris on Wednesday now faces federal charges in that altercation, after prosecutors say he became furious at the passenger who reclined the seat in front of him and then angrily grabbed a flight crew member.
Sixty-year-old Edmund Alexandre of Paris was arraigned at Massachusetts General Hospital on charges of interfering with a flight crew. Prosecutors recommended $500 cash bail and the judge imposed personal recognizance.
The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Alexandre became upset when the passenger in front of him reclined her seat. When a flight crew member tried to calm him, he allegedly became angrier and followed the crew member down the aisle of the plane and grabbed him by the arm. The D.A. said an air marshal on board American Airline Flight 62 subdued Alexandre and handcuffed him while the plane landed at Boston's Logan Airport.
Officials say Alexandre was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of a pre-existing condition. His next court date is Dec. 29. Alexandre is being represented by attorney Janet Macnab, who did not immediately return a call.
Earlier this week, two United Airlines passengers got into a heated argument over one passenger using a Knee Defender, a device that prevents another person from reclining in an airline seat, which resulted in the plane, which was traveling from Newark, New Jersey, to Denver, being diverted to Chicago.