Watch CBS News

Disruptive Woman On Flight From Fort Lauderdale To Nashville Facing Federal Charge

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami/CNN) - A Tennessee woman accused of assaulting two flight attendants on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Nashville is facing a federal charge.

On November 27th, Amanda Henry was on a Spirit Airlines flight when she became disruptive, appeared to be intoxicated, vaped during the flight, and made lewd sexual to several male passengers, according to the criminal complaint.

Passengers seated next to the 43-year-old reportedly requested to be moved to other seats due to her behavior.

Since Henry was seated next to an emergency exit, flight attendants decided for safety reasons to move Henry to another seat. When they requested that Henry move, she refused and grabbed her carry-on bag and ran toward the front of the aircraft screaming, "I'm getting off this plane."

Another flight attendant blocked Henry from getting to the main cabin door and began to restrain her, at which time Henry began to kick and hit the flight attendant. Henry also assaulted the other flight attendant who assisted in trying to restrain her.

Once they were able to restrain her, an off-duty firefighter on the flight assisted the crew by sitting with Henry and keeping her calm for the duration of the flight. When the plane landed at Nashville International Airport, Henry was arrested and charged with public intoxication.

After further investigation by the FBI, Henry was charged with interfering with flight crew members and attendants. She turned herself in on Tuesday, December 28th.

If convicted of the federal offense, Henry faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

(©2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company, contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.