Brothers Arrested, Pilot Hurt After Fight On Plane At MIA

Pilot Beaten Up, Chased Around MIA

POSTED: Thursday, July 28, 2011
UPDATED: 7:55 pm EDT July 28, 2011
video at the link:

MIAMI -- Two brothers remain in the Miami-Dade County jail after police said they attacked a pilot and a flight attendant at Miami International Airport on Wednesday night.

American Airlines Flight 1755 was about to take off from MIA bound for San Francisco International Airport when a flight attendant noticed that passenger Jonathan Baez, 27, was not wearing his seat belt. She tried to wake him up, but he was unresponsive, so she alerted the pilot.

Slideshow: Caught On Camera: Men Arrested
Read: Arrest Affidavit, MIA Incident

The pilot decided to turn the plane around and head back to the gate. Once at the gate, the pilot and the flight attendant both tried to wake Baez. He finally opened his eyes and was told he needed to exit the plane, that he could not travel in his condition.

[A bystander captured several pictures of the two men being arrested at Miami International Airport.]
A bystander captured several pictures of the two men being arrested at Miami International Airport.
While the pilot and flight attendants were escorting Baez off the plane, they claim his brother, Luis Baez, 29, threatened them, saying, "When you fly to San Juan, I will have you killed."

Both men exited the aircraft. But police said that moments later, Luis Baez tried to re-enter the plane and punched the pilot in the face.

One passenger told Local10 he witnessed the whole thing.

"I heard yelling and shouting. I guess it was right outside the door that things escalated into violence," the passenger said.

A flight attendant stepped in, and police said Luis Baez hit her on the shoulder.

Police said both brothers then attacked the pilot again on the jet bridge. They punched him several times and then chased him into the terminal, according to investigators.

The rest of the flight crew and several passengers from the flight came to the pilot's defense and subdued the brothers until police arrived.

The pilot suffered a large bruise and blurring in his eye. He also told police he is very fearful that the Luis Baez will follow through on his death threat.

"Apparently, the situation was escalating due to a language barrier," said the witness. "I think the American crew could have handed it a whole lot better without it escalating into a violent situation."

Luis Baez and Jonathan Baez are charged with aggravated battery and simple battery. Their bond was set at $9,000 each.

The police report claims Jonathan Baez "appeared to be intoxicated or on narcotics." In court, Jonathan Baez told the judge he was on pain medication from surgery following a car accident in Puerto Rico.

American Airlines released the following statement Thursday afternoon.

"We place the safety of our passengers and crews above all else. We simply have no patience or tolerance for this type of behavior, or for that matter, any kind of behavior onboard our aircraft which could place other passengers and our crews in danger. We will take any action necessary to fully support law enforcement and prosecutors in this case."

http://www.local10.com/news/28691181/detail.html