First class passengers convicted for ‘unruly’ American Airlines attack on flight diverted from LA to Phoenix

‘There is a line between boorish behavior on an airplane and criminal activity, and the defendant clearly crossed it,’ US Attorney says

A New York woman has been sentenced to four months in prison and three years of supervised release after she pleaded guilty to interference with flight crew members.

Kelly Pichardo, 32, from the Bronx in New York City, was also ordered to pay American Airlines $9,123, according to the Arizona US Attorney’s Office.

Pichardo and co-defendant Leeza Rodriguez “engaged in unruly and intimidating behavior while traveling first class” from Dallas, Texas to Los Angeles, California, prompting the plane to be diverted to Phoenix, Arizona, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Kelly Pichardo (left) and Leeza Rodriguez (right) were convicted of assaulting a fellow plane passenger (Fox 10 Phoenix)

Rodriguez is set to be sentenced on 7 November after pleading guilty.

United States Attorney Gary Restaino said that “there is a line between boorish behavior on an airplane and criminal activity, and the defendant clearly crossed it”.

“First class passengers are not immune from prosecution: defendant’s verbal and physical intimidation disrupted the travel of passengers and crew alike,” he added.

The plane touched down at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on 24 February last year and the women were removed from the plane.

According to the authorities, Pichardo and Rodriguez each assaulted a passenger, using racial slurs when a man attempted to intervene and get them to stop, according to CBS News.

Pichardo is alleged to have spat at a man when he tried to record the altercation.

The FBI and Phoenix police investigated the incident.

Following the altercation last year, the airline said in a statement that “while en route from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX), American Airlines flight 776 diverted to Phoenix (PHX) as a result of an in-flight customer altercation”.

“Upon arrival, the flight was met by local law enforcement who removed and arrested two individuals for verbally and physically assaulting other customers and flight crew members. Their behavior was disturbing and unacceptable, and they have been placed on the internal refuse list pending further investigation,” the airline added.

Every airline has a ban list for internal use, which is different from the federal no-fly list.

Delta Airlines suggested last year that all airlines should share their internal lists after announcing that they have banned more than 1,600 passengers from their planes.