Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Crew Member Attacked

A Kansas man has been arrested after assaulting an American Airlines crew member during mid-flight.

Prosecutors allege Julius Priester, 24, ripped off his shirt and threw/dragged an American Airlines flight attendant.

United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut David Sullivan stated, “Thirty minutes to an hour into the flight, Priester stood up, began to take off his shirt, then ran to the back of the plane yelling ‘Help me.””

“He then grabbed a flight attendant (‘the victim’), who was seated, shouted, ‘You’re coming with me,’ and forcefully brought the victim to the ground,” added Sullivan.

Passengers eventually got Priester back into his seat, and the captain of the plane diverted the plane to make an emergency landing.

Kansas man accused of throwing, dragging American Airlines flight attendant, prompting in-air emergency https://t.co/KEyqhRCeb3 pic.twitter.com/tPeuz1wEnQ

— New York Post (@nypost) May 29, 2025

Per The New York Post:

A Kansas man was charged with assaulting an American Airlines flight attendant after ripping off his shirt, throwing the employee to the ground and dragging them up the aisle, prosecutors said.

Julius Jordan Priester, 24, of Wichita, was aboard a May 27 flight from Bradley International Airport, in Connecticut, when chaos erupted at about 10 p.m.

“Thirty minutes to an hour into the flight, Priester stood up, began to take off his shirt, then ran to the back of the plane yelling ‘Help me,’” said United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut David Sullivan

“He then grabbed a flight attendant (‘the victim’), who was seated, shouted, ‘You’re coming with me,’ and forcefully brought the victim to the ground.”

Priester tried to drag the victim up the aisle, but was restrained by fellow passengers who jumped in to save the flight attendant.

Priester continued to shout incoherent statements after the passengers helped get him back to a seat, Sullivan’s office added.

Man charged after allegedly attacking flight attendant on American Airlines flight: DOJ:
A man on board an American Airlines flight from Connecticut to Chicago Tuesday night faces charges after he allegedly forced a flight attendant to the floor and att… https://t.co/eZqy6YArqy

— Elwin Sidney (@ElwinSidney) May 29, 2025

The New York Times had these details to add:

A Kansas man is facing federal charges after he grabbed a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight on Tuesday night, threw the person to the ground and tried to drag them up an aisle, federal prosecutors said.

The man, Julius Jordan Priester, 24, of Wichita, Kan., was on a plane flying from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., to Chicago when he began acting erratically around 10 p.m. — some 30 minutes into the one-hour flight, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut.

According to an affidavit filed by an F.B.I. special agent, Mr. Priester began taking off his shirt and ran toward the back of the plane while yelling, “Help me.” He then grabbed a flight attendant, who was seated, by the shirt collar and forced the person to the ground, shouting, “You’re coming with me,” according to the affidavit. He then tried to drag the attendant up the aisle, ignoring flight crew members’ calls for him to stop, it said.

Passengers helped get Mr. Priester back into a seat, where he continued to be disruptive and speak incoherently, prosecutors said. The captain declared an emergency, and the flight was diverted back to Bradley Airport. Connecticut State Police removed Mr. Priester from the plane, and an ambulance took him to a hospital for evaluation, prosecutors said. He was arrested at the hospital, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Priester was charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Mr. Priester is being held pending a bond hearing scheduled for Friday, prosecutors said.