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http://www.wnbc.com/news/16652533/detail.html
A Queens woman was arrested by federal authorities after a JetBlue flight was forced to make an emergency landing because she allegedly lit and refused to extinguish a cigarette on the plane and punched a flight attendant in the face, according to KUSA.com.
The plane was en route from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday when officials said passenger Christina Szele, 35, lit a cigarette in her seat and starting smoking, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
Smoking is forbidden on all domestic flights, but the Rocky Mountain News reported that when a flight attendant confronted Szele, she screamed obscenities and racial epithets at the man, according to court documents. Szele is white and the attendant is black, reported the paper.
Attendants managed to restrain Szele with flex cuffs, but she broke free and allegedly punched the flight attendant who initially had confronted her, Paul Whyte, in the jaw, according to KUSA.com.
One flight attendant said Szele punched him.
The plane made an emergency landing in Denver, Colo., where federal authorities removed Szele from the flight.
Szele was charged with assault and interfering with a flight crew in U.S. District Court in Denver.
A detention hearing is scheduled Monday for Szele, who faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted of the interference with flight charge. In addition, she faces six months and up to a $10,000 fine for the assault charge, reported KUSA.com.
About 145 passengers were on board the plane, which had a crew of five, according to KUSA.com.