August 03, 2021
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
A man on board a Miami-bound flight out of Philadelphia was arrested and charged with three counts of battery after he allegedly assaulted a male flight attendant and inappropriately touched two female flight attendants.
A man on a Miami-bound flight out of Philadelphia this weekend was duct taped to his seat after he allegedly touched two flight attendants inappropriately and assaulted a third, police said.
Maxwell Berry, of Norwalk, Ohio, was on board the Frontier Airlines flight on July 31 when he was accused of acting aggressively on board.
Police said the 22-year-old had two drinks while on the flight and had brushed an empty cup against the backside of a female flight attendant.
The flight attendant told Berry not to touch her, and he then spilled his drink on his shirt and went to the bathroom. He then emerged shirtless and flight attendants helped him get another shirt from his carry-on, 6ABC reported.
He then spent 15 minutes walking around the cabin before allegedly groping the chests of two female flight attendants on board.
"He came from behind and put his arm around both of them and groped their breasts again," according to the arrest report obtained by the New York Post.
Police said Berry then punched a male flight attendant in the face that was tasked with watching him after the incident.
Video footage shows Berry violently fighting with a male flight attendant and yelling profanities. He was then duct taped to his seat for the remainder of the flight.
He was arrested and charged with three counts of battery and taken to Miami-Dade County Jail – TGK Correctional Center.
A spokesperson for Frontier Airlines said in an email to PhillyVoice that the flight attendants will be "relieved of flying pending completion of an investigation."
"During a flight from Philadelphia to Miami on July 31, a passenger made inappropriate physical contact with two flight attendants and subsequently physically assaulted another flight attendant. As a result, the passenger needed to be restrained until the flight landed in Miami and law enforcement arrived. Frontier Airlines maintains the utmost value, respect, concern and support for all of our flight attendants, including those who were assaulted on this flight. We are supporting the needs of these team members and are working with law enforcement to fully support the prosecution of the passenger involved. The inflight crew members’ current paid leave status is in line with an event of this nature pending an investigation."
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