A man has been detained at Los Angeles airport after allegedly hitting a flight attendant.
On Wednesday (local time), Alexander Tung Cuu Le allegedly struck the flight attendant after a confrontation over coffee on a flight from San Jose del Cabo to LAX.
"Le exited his seat while flight attendants were conducting food and beverage service. Le grabbed one flight attendant's left shoulder from behind and asked for coffee," the US Attorney's Office for the Central District in California said in a statement.
"Le then allegedly loitered near the first-class cabin and then sat in an unoccupied aisle near the wall dividing the first-class cabin and the main cabin of the aircraft."
After another flight attendant confronted Le and asked him to return to his seat, he "rushed toward the flight attendant and punched him in the back of the head".
A video was shared on Twitter with the caption: "Violence in the air: a friend was travelling from Cabo to LAX when a passenger hit a flight attendant... He was later restrained by other passengers and arrested upon touchdown."
Another video also shared on Twitter showed the suspect being tied up with zip ties, with several crew members around him.
On Thursday (local time), American Airlines spokesperson Derek Walls said in a statement: "Acts of violence against our team members are not tolerated by American Airlines, the individual involved in this incident will never be allowed to travel with us in the future, and we will work closely with law enforcement in their investigation."
If Le is found guilty he could face up to 20 years in prison for the alleged assault.
