MIAMI — A St. Croix airline passenger who was denied alcohol on a flight and then launched into a screaming tirade involving spit and blood — now faces the possibility of up to 20 years in prison.
Jason Felix was flying from St. Croix to Miami on American Airlines flight 1293 when the incident occurred, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) affidavit.
The FBI and Miami-Dade police are investigating the matter, with Felix officially charged with attempting to interfere with a flight crew. A fellow passenger caught part of the argument on camera.
About one hour into the flight, Felix buzzed the flight attendant to purchase beer. The flight attendant refused after he had been spotted by that flight attendant allegedly rummaging around the back of plane opening and closing cabinets in the rear bathroom earlier in the flight. He had slammed the door shut and locked it when a flight attendant approached to ask if he was all right. When he emerged from the bathroom, he appeared agitated and was cursing at the attendant all the way back to his seat, 17-B.
A man in a blue plaid shirt who had the aisle seat — with Felix in the middle — later told the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) he knew Felix from his work as a police officer in the Virgin Islands and that his reputation was not a good one.
Once the flight attendant denied Felix a beer, the FBI affidavit says he climbed over his seatmate and began chasing after the flight attendant, screaming obscenities.
“You need to please sit down. You’re not drinking any more beers. We’ll be there in an hour,” the attendent told Felix.
“Are you my bartender?” Felix is said to have asked the attendant, to which they replied “Yes,” as he walked away.
The flight attendant then turned around to see Felix and his seatmate appearing to be whaling on each other in the narrow aisle between the seats. Other passengers attempted to pull the two men apart, video footage showed.
They were eventually able to get Felix back into his seat, but not before — according to his seatmate the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) officer — said Felix had spit blood and torn his shirt.
The FBI affidavit said Felix yelled: “I’m going to kill you. I know you are a cop.”
Fellow passengers continued to try and calm Felix down, but the insults and foul language directed at the other man, who by this point had been asked to change seats, continued.
Flight attendants offered Felix water, but he gave it to another passenger, according to the Bill Bolduc, who filmed the incident.
Felix’s detention hearing is tomorrow in Florida.
Four Miami-Dade police officers boarded the plane in Miami and escorted the unruly passenger into the airport where he was arrested.
The interfering with a flight crew charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in jail.