The Woodside, N.Y., woman accused of assault and interference with flight attendants on a New York to San Francisco JetBlue flight was released on a $10,000 bond today.
The woman, Christina Elizabeth Szele, 35, was described as intoxicated when she was accused of physically and verbally attacking a couple of JetBlue employees aboard Flight 643 on June 17.
According to crew and fellow passengers, she became uncontrollable after a flight attendant took matches and a lit cigarette from her.
Passengers are not allowed to smoke on flights.
The plane’s pilot, John Shanahan, diverted the flight to Denver after the crew reported that Szele was uncontrollable and scaring other passengers.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Joel Nishida testified on Monday in U.S. District Court that the incident involving Szele came in the wake of two other run-ins.
In August 2007, she was caught smoking in an airplane lavatory on a San Francisco to New York flight. She apologized, and there were no further episodes on that flight.
In a another incident earlier this month, she showed up intoxicated and combative at a checkpoint at New York’s JFK Airport and was turned away, said Nishida.
At the end of Monday’s hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Watanabe, agreed to let Szele return to New York under strict conditions. These include that she not fly on a commercial airliner; not consume drugs or alcohol; not obtain a passport; report to a probation officer; and confine her travels to New York, California and Colorado, although she is allowed to pass through other states.
Testimony at the hearing indicated that Szele’s father was driving to Denver to pickup his daughter and planned to drive her to New York City, where her employer said she could continue to work despite the incident.
Her next scheduled appearance in Denver is set for July 9.
U.S. Attorney Troy Eid, who attended the detention hearing on Monday for Szele, said he takes unruly-passenger cases very seriously and will prosecute them.
“This is the flight crew’s workplace — and it must be safe,” said Eid. “Sadly, cases involving interference with flight crews on commercial airliners are increasing, in Colorado and nationally. No flight attendant or passenger should have to endure what’s alleged to have occurred here. Enough is enough.”
Nishida testified that Szele told him before boarding the aircraft that she drank two beers at home and then was served three vodka drinks on the aircraft — something that Nishida confirmed with the crew.
Crew and passengers told the FBI that flight attendant Paul Whyte saw Szele smoking a cigarette as she sat in her seat in an emergency row.
When he took the cigarette away from her, she became enraged and yelled obscenities and racial epithets at Whyte, who is black, said Nishida.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
