A California man has been arrested after he allegedly choked and kicked several Frontier Airlines flight attendants while yelling “this plane is going to crash” during a fiery mid-air meltdown, according to federal prosecutors.
Charles Angel Salva, 30, is accused of attacking the flight attendant on Monday shortly after the plane took off from Santa Ana to San Francisco, according to a federal complaint.
Salva, who had just spent the weekend at Disneyland with his 3-year-old daughter, claimed to investigators after the crash that he was a “child molester” and that he had lashed out because he feared passengers were “trying to make him admit his guilt.”
Authorities said the mayhem began when Salva stood up and tried to rip an oxygen mask from the overhead bin while the seatbelt sign was still on.
When a flight attendant went to check on him, Salva yelled obscenities and said, “We're all going to hell” and “The plane is going to crash,” according to the lawsuit.
He then allegedly grabbed other passengers and ran toward the rear of the plane as flight attendants tried to stop him.
As flight attendants and other passengers tried to subdue Salva, he strangled one of the flight attendants, leaving two scars on the victim's neck, according to the lawsuit.
He also allegedly kicked another flight attendant in the leg about six times during the chaos, causing bruises and punches to her.
The enraged passenger allegedly yelled at one point that he was going to kill everyone, broke his flex cuffs and eventually had to be restrained with a seat belt, according to the lawsuit.
Federal authorities said the flight was eventually diverted to Ontario International Airport after flight attendants felt it was unsafe to return Salva to his seat.
According to the lawsuit, Salva was removed from the plane on a stretcher by police and later told police he had taken ecstasy before boarding the flight.
Salva was subsequently indicted on a charge of interfering with an airline crew member and a flight attendant. If convicted, Salva faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
