BY ALINA SURIEL AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
A Middle Village man on a flight from New York City was arrested in south Florida after punching a JetBlue flight attendant and threatening to blow up the plane on Thursday, federal prosecutors stated.
Alija Kucuk, 29, must answer to federal charges of interfering with a flight attendant and threatening to destroy an aircraft for his alleged outburst on board JetBlue Airlines Flight 153 from John F. Kennedy Airport to Palm Beach International Airport at about 8 p.m. on Oct. 15.
Once the plane reached cruising altitude, according to the criminal complaint, Kucuk allegedly got out of his chair, ran down the aisle, shoved two flight attendants and approached a third flight attendant, who was preparing for food and drink service.
When the third attendant tried to calm him down, prosecutors noted, Kucuk pushed the attendant into a door, then began shouting racial slurs and threatened to blow up the plane. The attendant eventually subdued Kucuk and restrained him for the remainder of the flight.
Flight 153 continued to Palm Beach and landed without incident; Kucuk was subsequently taken into custody and held in Palm Beach County jail. He is expected to appear Monday in federal court for a bond hearing.
