A California man has been arrested after he allegedly choked and kicked several Frontier Airlines flight attendants while screaming, “This airplane is going down” during a wild midair meltdown, federal prosecutors said.
Charles Angel Salva, 30, is accused of attacking the crew soon after the flight took off from Santa Ana en route to San Francisco on Monday, according to a federal court complaint.
Salva, who had just spent the weekend at Disneyland with his 3-year-old daughter, claimed to investigators in the aftermath that he was a “child molester” and he lashed out because he feared those on board were “trying to get him to admit his crimes.”
The chaos kicked off when Salva allegedly stood up and tried to rip down his oxygen mask from the overhead compartment while the seat belt sign was still on, authorities said.
When the flight attendants went to check on him, Salva started firing off obscenities and screamed, “We are all going to hell” and “This airplane is going down,” according to the complaint.
He then allegedly grabbed at fellow passengers before running toward the back of the plane, where flight attendants tried to restrain him.
Salva choked one crew member, leaving two marks on the victim’s neck, as the flight attendants and other passengers tried to pin him down, the filing states.
He also allegedly left another flight attendant bruised and battered after kicking them roughly six times in the leg amid the chaos.
The enraged passenger, who at one point allegedly shouted that he was going to kill everyone, managed to break out of his flex cuffs and eventually had to be restrained with a seat belt, the complaint charges.
The flight ended up being diverted to Ontario International Airport because flight attendants didn’t feel safe trying to put Salva back in his own seat, according to the feds.
Salva, who was escorted off the plane on a gurney by law enforcement, later claimed to cops that he had taken ecstasy before boarding the flight, the complaint said.
He has since been charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants. If convicted, Salva faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
