Woman accused of assaulting a flight attendant on American Airlines flight

A woman allegedly assaulted a flight attendant during an American Airlines flight from Miami to New York City, according to a complaint released by federal prosecutors.

The altercation between Chenasia I. Campbell and the flight attendant happened midway through American Airlines Flight 1357, according to the federal complaint filed in New York.

The flight left Miami just before midnight Saturday, and arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport at approximately 2:14 a.m. Sunday, according to airline spokesman Curtis Blessing.

In a statement, American Airlines said that “a customer who refused to comply with the federal face mask requirement assaulted a crew member while in flight.”

“Violence of any kind is not tolerated by American,” the statement said.

CNN has asked authorities about the airline’s allegation that the passenger violated a federal mask mandate, which is not mentioned in the complaint. A spokesperson said they could not comment beyond the allegations contained in the complaint.

The complaint says Campbell left her seat and followed a flight attendant to a crew area, allegedly yelling at that attendant for not picking up her garbage.

Another flight attendant tried to intervene, and the defendant accused that flight attendant of pushing her, according to the complaint.

Campbell then struck the intervening flight attendant with closed fists and pulled the attendant’s hair, according to the complaint.

Later, Campbell returned to the crew area after arguing with another passenger and allegedly stated that the “cops aren’t going to do anything to me,” before striking the flight attendant again with closed fists causing the pair to fall to the floor. Campbell also tried to pull up or remove the flight attendant’s dress, the complaint states.

A crew request to the captain to land the plane was denied, the complaint states, but an off-duty New York City Police Department officer on the flight was able to place the woman in hand restraints until she was taken into custody upon arrival in New York, according to the complaint.

The injured flight attendant “sustained scrapes to the arm and cheek, bruises to the forehead and leg … and a strained neck,” among other injuries, but refused additional medical assistance after being evaluated by medical personnel at JFK, the complaint states.

In addition to being accused of assaulting and intimidating a flight attendant, Campbell is also accused of interfering with the performance of the duties of the flight attendant and lessening the ability to perform those duties, according to the complaint.

Campbell appeared in court Monday and was released on a $15,000 bond, according to the spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office. Campbell’s defense attorney, James Darrow of the Brooklyn Federal Public Defenders Office, declined to comment when contacted by CNN.

The incident comes as the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is experiencing a spike in reports of unruly airplane passengers, and has received about 1,300 such reports since February.