Global Courant 2023-05-16 14:46:09
An American Airlines passenger pleaded guilty to assault after assaulting a flight attendant during a dispute over the plane’s menu options.
Robert David Croizat was in first class on a flight from Barbados to Miami on March 8 when he yelled at and assaulted flight attendants, according to an indictment obtained by the New York Post.
After Croizat objected to the way a male flight attendant spoke to him when providing meals, he allegedly insulted the airline employee by saying he was a “sh–y” flight attendant.
Croizat was angry “because he thought (the flight attendant) had been rude to him” and wanted to “express his displeasure that only vegetarian meals were available in the first-class cabin,” according to court documents.
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Robert David Croizat was in first class on a flight from Barbados to Miami on March 8 when he yelled at and assaulted flight attendants. (Broward County)
Croizat’s sustained outburst caught the attention of a second flight attendant who approached the two men. He said to the flight attendants, “What, you want to call the captain?” and “aggressively, demanding and loudly” yelled at them to “get the captain here,” the charge read.
During the incident, Croizat allegedly shoved a third flight attendant twice after she told him not to touch her. He is also accused of refusing to sit down, which led to the flight attendant calling the captain and informing him of the altercation.
He continued to “persevere in combative and non-compliant behavior”, the complaint recorded as a statement from the third flight attendant. The crew member told another passenger that help was needed to bring Croizat under control, who admitted to having had two drinks during the dispute.
Unwilling to sit down, Croizat pushed the second flight attendant — a woman — and pinned her against the cockpit door before a passenger lifted him up and placed him in his seat in an attempt to restrain him, causing a glass of wine to spill, according to the complaint.
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An American Airlines passenger pleaded guilty to assault after assaulting a flight attendant during a dispute over the plane’s menu options. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Croizat remained in his seat for the rest of the flight, but continued to complain about how he was being treated.
The second flight attendant placed a cart between the cabin and the cockpit to prevent contact with the captain.
“The captain called air traffic control to report the in-flight incident and informed air traffic control that there was an attempt to breach the cockpit,” the lawsuit said.
Croizat was arrested when the plane landed in Miami. His attorney Barry Wax told Insider that Croizat pleaded guilty to an assault charge in federal court in Miami on Wednesday. A charge of flight crew interference was dropped.
Robert David Croizat was arrested when the plane landed in Miami. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
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“This incident was completely uncharacteristic of Mr. Croizat and represented an overreaction that he regrets,” Wax said in a statement.
Wax told Insider that his client “got into a fight with a flight attendant who he felt disrespected him. Two other flight attendants got involved, Mr. Croizat tapped one of them on the back of her shoulder when she turned her back, and then they turned to him, he poked her twice in the shoulder.
Croizat’s lawyer also claimed that his client never tried to come to the cockpit.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
