Mayhem in the Sky – Airline Misconduct & Violence
As a criminal defense attorney, I would like to know, what the hell is going on with airline travel these days? I keep seeing stories of airline passengers assaulting airline employees as well as other passengers. Has everyone lost their damn minds? There are things you need to know about this. If you get into a fight with a fellow passenger on an airplane, the federal government has jurisdiction over it, meaning…it’s going to be a federal crime. What’s going to happen is, the plane is going to land, and waiting for you at the gate is going to be some federal officers who are ready to charge you with a federal crime.
Now, if you assault someone on a plane, who is a fellow passenger, you’re looking at up to one year in prison, and a $4,000 fine. But, if you assault someone who is actually a crew member, maybe a stewardess, attendant, a pilot, or a co-pilot…someone who is officially involved with the airline, then you are looking at up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Why is everyone going so crazy right now? Why is there a new story in the news seemingly every week about some crazy passenger decking another passenger or hitting a crew member on a commercial flight? A lot of it has to do with people’s frustration over the federal mask mandates.
Now, keep in mind, it’s not a crime in and of itself, to not wear a mask or violate these mask policies, that’s not a federal crime. But, it’s what we call a civil violation. What does that mean? Well, you’re not looking at prison time, but our “good friends” over at the FAA and the TSA are going to have a word with you about it. They’re going to issue you some fines. As it turns out, in 2021 alone, there were over 1.5 million dollars in fines issued to passengers on commercial airlines in the United States alone for not complying with their mask mandate.
Another thing, apparently that you can expect if you violate these mandates, is to go viral. Because apparently a lot of passengers are taking videos of these incidents, so keep these things in mind as you are flying. Try to get along, try to behave, and of course, if you or anyone you know have any problems with this, call our law firm. Sometimes there are defenses to these types of things.
If you have questions about Federal Cases or would like to to schedule a Strategy Session with a federal defense lawyer, contact the Attorneys for Freedom today or call our Arizona office at 480-755-7110 or Hawai’i office at 808-647-2423.
