Jaunted

Nicotine Fiend Flips out on JetBlue

6/19/2008 at 5:15 PM
Tags: JetBlue, Smoking, Airlines, Airline Hell, Bad Seatmates, Christina Szele (all tags)

A packed JetBlue plane flying from New York to San Francisco had to make an emergency landing after a woman flipped out and allegedly punched a flight attendant. The passenger, 35-year-old Christina Szele of Queens, flew into a rage after a member of the crew asked her to put out a cigarette she lit up mid-flight. Szele, a white woman, began cursing and screaming racial epithets at an African-American flight attendant after he plucked the cigarette from her mouth, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

After her outburst, Szele was placed in restraints, but she managed to escape her plastic handcuffs and punch the flight attendant in the face. That's when pilots decided to bring the plane down in Denver in order to throw Szele off the flight.

Now the angry Queens nicotine fiend faces federal charges and up to 20 years in jail. Note to Szele: Cigarettes are pretty tough to come by in prison!

Related Stories:
· Smoking Woman in Air Rage [TSG]
· Affidavit: Woman smoked on flight, then hit flight attendant [KUSATV]
· Bad Seatmates coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: TSG]