Huge fine and prison: two residents of Arizona severely punished for brawl on the plane

On Jan. 3, the U.S. District Court in Arizona sentenced a woman to 24 months probation for interfering with flight crew members, a Class C felony, on board an American Airlines aircraft in 2021, reports CNN.

Photo: IStock

In addition to probation, the court ordered Lisa S. Rodriguez to pay $9 in damages to American Airlines Corporate Security, as well as a $123 special fee.

The court ruled that Rodriguez was unable to pay the fine, and he was abandoned.

As part of her probation, Rodriguez must enter a drug treatment program as directed by a probation officer and agree to substance abuse testing.

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Rodriguez's lawyer Melinda Kovacs did not comment on the verdict.

Co-defendant Rodriguez in the case, Kelly Pichardo, was convicted in September.

What happened on board Flight 776

The women were flying first class on American Airlines Flight 776 from Dallas to Los Angeles on February 24, 2021 when the incident occurred.
The flight was diverted to Phoenix so the two of them could be taken off the plane.

The indictment alleged that Pichardo and Rodriguez interfered with a flight crew member. They attacked a crew member while the plane was in flight. According to the indictment, Rodriguez was also charged with assaulting a passenger. Pichardo was charged with assaulting another passenger.

The defendants eventually pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing the actions of a flight crew member.

Pichardo was sentenced in September to four months in prison, followed by a 36-month supervised release. Pichardo was also ordered to pay $9 in damages to American Airlines.

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In a press release announcing Pichardo's sentencing, the Department of Justice called her behavior "frightening".

Unruly passenger behavior hits record high in 2021

2021 was a record year for unruly passenger behavior. During the year, the Federal Aviation Administration received 5981 messages.

In 2021, about 1100 investigations and 350 enforcement actions were initiated.

At the end of 2021, the Department of Justice promised to prioritize the prosecution of crimes on commercial aircraft.

As for 2022, it showed a marked improvement in the number of reported incidents, with 15 reported unruly passengers as of December 2359 and 823 investigations initiated.

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Although the number of reported incidents and investigations initiated decreased in 2022, more law enforcement cases were opened at 553. According to the FAA, as of December 15, 80 cases in 2022 were referred to the FBI for criminal proceedings.

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