Plane passenger spat on fellow flier and jumped down emergency slide in rampage

An American Airlines passenger has been sentenced after an in-flight rampage saw her spit on a fellow passenger before opening the emergency exit and jumping down the inflatable slide.

Cynthia McKnight, from Rochester, New York, also pushed a flight attendant during the incident, which happened during a flight from Buffalo, New York to Chicago on April 19, 2022.

The 24-year-old was convicted of two counts of simple assault after the rampage and faced up to six months in prison as well as a $5,000 fine.

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But she avoided jail when she was sentenced to time served and three years probation, the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York said on Friday.

According to court documents, McKnight became "irate" when airline staff asked her to stop using her phone as the plane was ready to depart.

She then "made her way to the front of the aircraft and engaged in a verbal altercation with one passenger, then spat on another passenger", the Attorney's Office said in a statement.

The altercation meant the aircraft was forced to return to the gate and court documents stated that when McKnight realised she was "going to be in trouble", she then attempted to "exit the aircraft as it was in motion on the ground".

Officials said she pushed a flight attendant who had attempted to stop her from opening one of the aircraft's doors.

But McKnight was eventually able to get one of the emergency exits open, which deployed the aircraft's emergency inflatable slide.

She then jumped down to get off the plane and attempted to run away after getting down onto the tarmac.

But McKnight was arrested by Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and airport officials.

According to the arrest affidavit, she told officers she'd been under the influence of alcohol and “was upset that the flight was delayed, and she wanted to get off.”

She also claimed she spat on her fellow passenger because they were filming her.

Buffalo Bills American football player Spencer Brown happened to be among the 65 passengers who were on the flight during the commotion.

He Tweeted at the time: “Sitting on a plane. A lady is p***ed. Lady pulls the emergency inflatable slide to escape the plane. Lady is running wild through the tarmac currently. Cops have arrived. Flight ruined. Memories made. Noice.”

Because the emergency slide had been deployed the flight had to be terminated for safety reasons and other passengers were forced to rearrange their journeys.

American Airlines estimated that rebooking the passengers and replacing the emergency slide would cost $50,000.

Although McKnight avoided jail, she has agreed to fork out $42,128 (£34,073) in restitution as part of a plea agreement, the Independent reports.

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