A passenger faces federal charges after he was accused of attacking a flight attendant and swallowing rosary beads on a regional flight to Miami.
Delange Augustin, 31, was charged with misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor obstruction of police and a felony count of criminal property damage after an altercation Monday on an American Airlines flight from Savannah, Georgia, to Miami.
An arrest affidavit filed in federal court in Georgia alleges that Augustin, one of eight passengers on an American Airlines flight, had a violent outburst at one of five crew members.
Less than a minute after takeoff, a flight attendant noticed Augustin "in what appeared to be a fit of epilepsy, the affidavit says." When the attendant tried to check on him, Augustin "turned in his seat, lifted his legs, and kicked" the flight attendant in the chest, the affidavit alleges.
According to the affidavit, the force of the kick was so strong that it sent the flight attendant across the plane's aisle, into the opposite row of seats and against the far window. Augustin is alleged to have then continued his aggression, punching and kicking the seat and the passenger in front of him.
The pilots overheard the altercation and ultimately decided to turn the plane back around to Savannah Hilton Head airport, rather than continue to Miami. Once the plane became redirected, Augustin seemed to calm down, the affidavit says.
Augustin, who was traveling with his sister Medjina Augustin, told Medjina that the pair were "on their way to Haiti to flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature," the affidavit says.
Medjina told officers that before his outburst on the plane, her brother had turned to her and told her to "close her eyes and pray because Satan's disciple(s) had followed them onto the plane," the affidavit says.
The defendant's sister told investigators that she had "never experienced as much darkness as was on the plane that evening," the affidavit says, adding that she was not surprised by Augustin's alleged attack against the flight attendant because "he hurts evil."
Augustin swallowed rosary beads at some point because the beads are "a weapon of strength in the spiritual warfare," the affidavit says.
As Augustin was exiting the flight, he again tried to attack a flight attendant, causing three other passengers to intervene, the affidavit alleges. Airport police boarded the plane and subdued Augustin, it says.
The affidavit says Augustin was taken to the hospital for evaluation and "the ingestion of rosary beads." Soon afterward, he was taken to the Chatham County Detention Center, where he was detained Monday.
Augustin's sister indicated to authorities that he was not suffering from any medical or mental health issues, the affidavit says. It says the flight eventually departed back to Savannah after a 181-minute delay.
It was not immediately clear whether Augustin has a lawyer, and one is not listed for him in court records.
American Airlines said in a statement that “safety and security are our top priorities” and that it appreciates "the professionalism of the entire crew and thank our passengers for their understanding."
