Mid-Flight Scuffle: Woman Allegedly Punches, Pulls Hair Of Flight Attendant

A 28-year-old woman was arrested Sunday after she allegedly assaulted and intimidated a flight attendant during a flight from Miami, Florida, to Queens, New York.

Chenasia Campbell allegedly "did knowingly and intentionally assault and intimidate a flight attendant of the aircraft, interfere with the performances of the duties of the flight attendant, and lessen the ability of the flight attendant to perform those duties," Law & Order reported, citing a four-page complaint filed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officer Anthony Apath.

The incident reportedly began when Campbell started yelling at a flight attendant approximately midway through American Airlines flight 1357 "for not picking up her garbage."

"The victim attempted to separate (Campbell) from the flight attendant, at which point (Campbell) accused the victim of pushing her. (Campbell) then struck the victim with closed fists and pulled the victim's hair," read the complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York Monday.

Campbell reportedly started to argue with another passenger after she distanced herself from the victim and walked toward the lavatory in another part of the plane. She then reapproached the victim in the crew area of the plane and began yelling obscenities.

"(Campbell) stated to the victim that the 'cops aren't going to do anything to me,' and then struck the victim with closed fists, causing the two of them to fall to the floor," Apath recalled in the document, adding Campbell allegedly attempted to pull or remove the victim's dress at some point during the altercation.

After a request made to the captain to land was denied, an off-duty New York Police Department officer aboard the plane placed Campbell in hand restraints for the remainder of the flight. Campbell was then arrested after the plane landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where she remained through her arraignment Monday.

"The victim sustained scrapes to the arm and cheek, bruises to the forehead and leg, swollen hands from defending herself, and a strained neck as a result of being pulled to the floor by (Campbell)," the complaint said, adding that the victim's ability to perform her duties for the remainder of the flight was allegedly lessened due to her injuries.

The flight attendant was evaluated by medical personnel and refused additional medical assistance.

Campbell appeared in court Monday and was released on a $15,000 bond, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office was quoted by CNN as saying.

The court placed travel restrictions on Campbell, limiting her only to New York City and Long Island, as per Law & Order. She is not allowed to apply for a new passport and was ordered to turn in her current one if she recovered it. Campbell will also be subject to random visits from pretrial services.

An American Airlines spokesperson told the Miami Herald that Campbell was no longer welcome in any of their flights.

"Violence of any kind is not tolerated by American Airlines," the spokesperson said in an email. "The customer involved in this incident has been placed on our internal refuse list, pending further investigation."