DENVER—A woman charged with punching an airline attendant who tried to stop her from smoking during a flight pleaded guilty Tuesday to interfering with a crew member.
Christina Elizabeth Szele (ZELL’-ee) of Woodside, N.Y., faces six months to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and nearly $8,000 in restitution at her Feb. 5 sentencing.
She also faces three years’ probation, during which she will not be allowed to fly on commercial airlines, said U.S. attorney’s spokesman Jeff Dorschner.
Szele, dressed in a black turtleneck and charcoal slacks, spoke little in court Tuesday, replying with short answers to questions from U.S. District Judge John Kane.
Authorities said Szele shouted obscenities and racial slurs at a flight attendant who tried to stop her from smoking on a JetBlue flight from New York to San Francisco in June.
The FBI said crew members restrained Szele with plastic handcuffs, but she broke them and punched a flight attendant in the jaw.
The pilot diverted the plane to Denver, where Szele was arrested.
Szele’s attorneys had indicated in July she planned to plead guilty, and prosecutors were preparing to transfer her case to Brooklyn, N.Y.
The transfer never happened, however, because Szele was re-arrested Sept. 15 in Queens, N.Y., after authorities said she tested positive twice for cocaine and was accused of misdemeanor assault.
After her re-arrest, Szele was sent to a halfway house in Colorado, where she will remain until her sentencing.
