A man in Washington, D.C., allegedly attacked a flight attendant naked, prompting passengers to intervene, federal authorities said.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey, 38-year-old Kydus Yakub Demtaev was aboard a United Airlines flight from Houston to Newark, New Jersey, on June 12, 2024, when he allegedly threatened a flight attendant. and attacked him.
Demtew was charged Tuesday in federal court in Newark with interference with flight crew members and attendants by assault or battery. According to the criminal complaint, shortly before landing he allegedly took off his shirt and “pushed his bare chest into the flight attendant” and then pressed the attendant “against the exit door of the plane” as he screamed and physically assaulted her. Threatened with violence.
Authorities said he also “punched a hole in an aircraft oven” amid his rampage.
Authorities said the 38-year-old man from Washington, D.C., continued threatening the flight attendant. He allegedly followed her to the back of the plane and proceeded to “throw a cup of water” at the worker.
Officials said another flight attendant requested assistance through the airplane’s public address system, prompting several passengers in the last row of the plane to assist in securing Demtew in a flex cuff until he could be rescued. The flight did not land in Newark.
Demtew was arraigned Tuesday in D.C. federal court before Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Appeared before Sharbaugh and was released.
He faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison in jail and a maximum fine of $250,000.
“U.S. Attorney Selinger credited FBI Special Agents under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark for the investigation leading to the charges,” the release said. “He also thanked the Port Authority Police Department, under the direction of Edward T. Setnar, for its assistance.”
United Airlines declined to provide additional comment to Fox News Digital.
