DENVER—A woman charged with punching a flight attendant who tried to stop her from smoking on a plane faces new allegations of drug use and assault.
Thirty-five-year-old Christina Elizabeth Szele (ZELL’-ee) of Woodside, N.Y., is free on $10,000 bail after the June 17 incident on a JetBlue flight from New York to San Francisco.
The plane was diverted to Denver, and she was arrested on charges of assault and interfering with a flight attendant.
Szele was re-arrested Sept. 15 after authorities said she tested positive twice for cocaine and was accused of misdemeanor assault in Queens, N.Y.
She appeared in federal court in Denver Tuesday, and a federal magistrate scheduled another hearing for Thursday. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call.
