A Frontier passenger allegedly groped and assaulted flight attendants on a Miami-bound flight, resulting in the man arriving at the destination duct-taped to his seat.
Police reported that Maxwell Berry, 22, had two drinks while onboard a flight from Miami to Philadelphia on Jul 31.
He was ordering another drink when he reportedly brushed his empty cup against a flight attendant’s “backside inappropriately,” said the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The man later allegedly groped the chests of two other flight attendants, who requested assistance from a third cabin crew.
It was reported that Berry punched the flight attendant who arrived.
With the help of nearby passengers, the third flight attendant eventually restrained Berry to his seat using the seatbelt extender and duct tape.
A video of the incident was shared by ABC reporter Sam Sweeney on Twitter on Tuesday (Aug 3).
“You guys f****** suck,” Berry was heard saying while his mask was pulled under his chin.
“My parents are worth more than f****** 2 million goddamn dollars!”
A crew member could be seen trying to calm down Berry.
The video later showed Berry being aggressive with the crew member.
A clip of Berry being taped to his seat was also caught on camera. Laughter could be heard from the passengers near him.
Mr Sweeney also tweeted screenshots of reports on the incident, highlighting that the flight attendants involved “have been suspended pending further investigation” as the proper policies for restraining a passenger were not followed.
After the largest flight attendant union demanded support for the suspended crew, Frontier Airlines provided the following statement: “Frontier Airlines maintains the utmost value, respect, concern and support for all of our flight attendants, including those who were assaulted on this flight. We are supporting the needs of these team members and are working with law enforcement to fully support the prosecution of the passenger involved. The inflight crew members’ current paid leave status is in line with an event of this nature pending an investigation.”
“Flight Attendants have faced an onslaught of disruptions on our flights this year. The situation on Frontier this weekend is one of the worst examples,” said Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson.
“A drunk and irate passenger verbally, physically, and sexually assaulted multiple members of the crew. When he refused to comply after multiple attempts to de-escalate, the crew was forced to restrain the passenger with the tools available to them on board.”
A member of the public also took to Twitter to share an aftermath clip of the incident.
The video showed Berry taped on his seat and struggling to free his mouth to call for “help.”
His pleas were only met with teasing and laughter from nearby passengers.
#frontier #frontierairlines crazy it happened right beside, me it’s crazy out here pic.twitter.com/YdjURlSb5p
— k9spams (@k9spams) August 3, 2021
It was reported that Berry was arrested after touch down.
Miami-Dade Police charged Berry with three misdemeanour counts of battery or the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact, which includes sexual contact. /TISG
Read related: Woman refuses to wear mask in flight, pulls another passenger’s hair, later dragged off plane
Woman refuses to wear mask in flight, pulls another passenger’s hair, later dragged off plane
