Arielle Jackson: Woman who punched Southwest Airlines attendant arrested; victim hospitalized
DALLAS, TEXAS: A 32-year-old woman, Arielle Jean Jackson, was arrested after she assaulted a Southwest Airlines flight attendant on Saturday, November 13, Dallas police said. Officials confirmed that Jackson boarded Flight 4976 at around 12:40 pm, with scheduled service from Dallas Love Field to La Guardia. Jackson reportedly boarded the flight and “went straight to the back” where she had a verbal altercation with a flight attendant. The employee then asked her to leave the plane.
According to officials, Jackson then walked up to the front of the plane and had a verbal altercation with the employee, following which she hit her with “a closed fist to the head.” The suspect then "went to the front of the plane where she had another verbal altercation with another [operations agent] " and began "hitting her with a closed fist to the head," police said in a statement.
READ MORE
Who is Francesco Facchinetti? Italian DJ accuses Conor McGregor of breaking his nose
Delta brawl: Bloody melee erupts on flight after passenger uses seatback pocket
The employee was subsequently arrested for aggravated assault and taken into custody at the Dallas County Jail, while the attendant had to be taken to a local hospital. "We have a Station Manager with her at the hospital with the full support of her Southwest Family sending our thoughts, prayers, and love," the airline said in a statement to Fox News. "Southwest Airlines maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding any type of harassment or assault and fully support our Employee as we cooperate with local authorities regarding this unacceptable incident."
In another recent incident, an American Airlines flight from New York City to Orange County, California had to be diverted to Denver on Wednesday, October 27, after a female flight attendant was assaulted by a male passenger over a mask dispute. Witnesses aboard flight 976 recalled how the irate passenger punched the flight attended twice in the face after refusing to comply with the airline's mask mandate. The incident caused the flight to make an emergency landing at Denver as it flew from JFK to John Wayne Airport. Fellow passenger Mackenzie Rose said she saw the flight attendant walk by after the incident "with blood on her mask."
Meanwhile, Meek Mill, a 34-year-old “Hot” artist, has accused a flight crew member of racism. The rapper, born Robert Williams, accused the crew member of “acting real racist” after he and his entourage were asked if they were smoking weed immediately after they boarded a private jet. Mill posted the interaction, which he filmed, on social media, where the crew member can be seen asking if their group was smoking on the plane, even though they had boarded just “30 seconds ago”. “So you just said we was smoking on a plane, we just came on here 30 seconds ago,” the Philadelphia native said to the crew member, who responded saying he smelled marijuana.