A Delta passenger could spend decades in prison after prosecutors say he slapped a flight attendant on the butt during drink service, forcing the cross-country flight to divert and ending with his arrest in Atlanta.
A federal indictment in Atlanta now puts 32-year-old Cody James Maluck at the center of an in-flight interference case.
Delta Flight 800 had left Fort Lauderdale for Los Angeles on May 9 before the crew abandoned the route and headed for Atlanta.
P.L.L., the flight attendant named in the complaint, was moving through the cabin with beverage service when Maluck appeared to be asleep, according to court filings.
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Moments later, the complaint says, a blow to her buttocks was forceful enough to jolt her forward.
“Immediately thereafter, she turned around and observed Maluck raising his hands and stating words to the effect of, ‘I didn’t do anything,’” the complaint reads.
The report moved up the crew chain from the flight attendant to the lead attendant and then to the cockpit.
The plane landed early at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Maluck was arrested after the diversion.
Maluck did not deny contact, but he challenged the flight attendant’s description of it.
His explanation was that headphones kept him from hearing the beverage-service question.
He framed the contact as an attempt to get attention, not an act meant to harm or disrespect her.
Delta said in a statement that it would not tolerate disruptive behavior in the air.
“We have zero tolerance for unruly behavior and will work with law enforcement authorities in the prosecution of anyone who violates federal law while flying,” Delta Airlines said.
A conviction could carry a prison term of up to 20 years.
The Delta case is one of several recent airline incidents involving passengers accused of turning flights into criminal investigations.
Another midair meltdown forced a Chicago-bound Frontier flight out of Puerto Rico to land in Miami.
Federal prosecutors say 51-year-old Chicago resident Juan Gabriel Reyes could face 21 years behind bars over the Frontier disturbance.
Prosecutors accused Reyes of going for the exit doors and trying to reach the flight deck area.
The alleged outburst also included an attack on a passenger and an attempt to choke an off-duty flight attendant.
Restraining him took crew members and Josh Longood, a Brazilian jujitsu black belt and former MMA fighter.
Online footage showed the struggle continuing as Reyes was pinned down and zip-tied.
“I just grabbed him, restrained him as safely as possible, kind of just really put him in his row, and laid him down, kind of framed against him, controlled his hands and his feet,” Longood said in a CBS News interview.
“It was like holding a kid down throwing a tantrum,” Longood said.
WATCH: Passengers restrain a man onboard a Frontier Airlines flight to Chicago's O'Hare on Sunday after he reportedly tried to open an emergency exit door in an attempt to jump off the plane mid-flight.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Frontier Airlines flight… pic.twitter.com/g3QBearixJ
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Frontier later said the plane resumed its trip to Chicago a few hours after the diversion.
Reyes faces interference and assault charges tied to the flight.
FAA penalties could add more than $40,000 in fines.
Another alleged airport scheme in Houston began before takeoff but still delayed a plane full of passengers.
In Houston, 25-year-old Abdulrahman Oluwatumike Oriyomi allegedly made it onto a United plane with a boarding pass authorities say was fraudulent.
Harris County prosecutors filed a critical-infrastructure charge over the May 18 episode.
According to the charging documents, he got onto the Los Angeles-bound aircraft, stayed in the restroom as it taxied and used a fake name when a flight attendant questioned him.
The flight lost about three hours after the aircraft returned to the gate.
Authorities also said the questioning turned disruptive.
He left the airport that day with a trespass warning, then was arrested later after investigators kept digging.
Prosecutors pushed for $25,000 bond, citing the three-hour delay, the full flight and the multi-agency response from Houston police, the FBI, Houston Airports and TSA.
The judge left bond at $15,000 during Monday’s hearing.
Oriyomi’s lawyer framed it to ABC13 as a misunderstanding, saying his client thought he was buying a discounted ticket.
Another Delta crew changed course in May during a Los Angeles-to-Shanghai flight after a passenger allegedly refused to comply.
The Airbus A350-900 was near the coast of northwest Washington when the crew decided to land early.
Delta told KOMO News the passenger ignored repeated crew warnings.
Delta framed the diversion as a safety call “for the safety of the aircraft and passenger.”
Seattle police were waiting at the gate and escorted the passenger off the plane.
