The aeroplane was forced to land prematurely. The reason was that passenger Cody James Maluck, 32, had committed a ”disgusting” act on board, according to Daily Beast. He risks prison, writes Independent.

A Delta Air Lines flight was en route from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles on May 9. However, it was forced to divert to Atlanta due to an onboard incident.

This was prompted by a flight attendant walking among the passengers to serve drinks. When she reached passenger Cody James Maluck, 32, he appeared to be asleep. Not wanting to wake him, she moved on to the next person.

”As she was serving a drink to another passenger nearby, she felt a slap on her buttocks with enough force to make her body move forward. She immediately turned around and looked at Maluck, who raised his hands and said something to the effect of ’I didn't do anything’, according to court documents.”.

A colleague told police that she ”heard a scream” and saw the flight attendant's body ”moving forward as if she had been hit or pushed”, according to court documents.

Risk of imprisonment

After being informed about what had happened, the pilot decided to ”divert the plane for safety reasons” to Atlanta airport. Maluck was arrested by police when the plane landed.

Maluck claimed that it was not his intention to ”harm or show disrespect but rather that he was trying to get her attention”. He admitted that he ”touched the flight attendant's backside” but stated that he ”did not hit her with enough force to cause her body to move forward”, according to court documents. 

He has been charged with aggravated assault. If Maluck is convicted, he faces a prison sentence.

– Delta has zero tolerance for disruptive or unruly behaviour on our flights, says a spokesperson for the airline.

Source: Expressen.se