A man on a Frontier Airlines flight to Miami was arrested over the weekend after allegedly groping and punching flight attendants.
In now-viral footage, the man—since identified as 22-year-old Maxwell Berry—is seen screaming and hitting at a flight attendant before ultimately being taped to his seat. During the July 31 flight, the Ohio resident—who was traveling from Philadelphia to Florida at the time—allegedly groped two women flight attendants multiple times.
A police report cited in a piece from Bridgette Matter for regional outlet WPLG states that Berry first ordered two alcoholic drinks, then “brushed his empty cup” against the backside of a woman flight attendant when ordering a third. Later, he emerged from the bathroom shirtless after spilling a drink, at which point he was instructed to put a new shirt on. At another point, according to police, Berry allegedly placed his arms around both women and “groped” them.
“He came up from behind and put his arms around both of them and groped their breasts again,” the police report states.
Another passenger on the flight, Alfredo Rivera, captured video of part of the incident. Speaking with WPLG, Rivera said Berry “started to get aggressive” before “basically attacking the male flight attendants.”
In the ensuing footage, Berry is also heard screaming about the alleged net worth of his family.
“My parents are worth more than fucking two million goddamn dollars!” he says at one point. “And you know what? You fucking suck.” And once the tape is seen being brought out, many of the man’s fellow passengers are heard laughing.
According to multiple reports, Berry was later arrested and has since been charged with multiple counts of battery.
Complex has reached out to reps for Miami-Dade Police and Frontier Airlines for additional comment. In a previously shared statement, a spokesperson for the low-cost airline said that the passenger “needed to be restrained” and noted that involved flight attendants have been relieved of flying duties pending completion of an investigation.
In a statement shared Tuesday, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson noted that flight attendants have faced “an onslaught of disruptions” while at work over the past year. As Nelson noted, the incident on the Frontier flight marks one of the “worst examples” of this:
“Flight Attendants have faced an onslaught of disruptions on our flights this year. The situation on Frontier this weekend is one of the worst examples. A drunk and irate passenger verbally, physically, and sexually assaulted multiple members of the crew. When he refused to comply after multiple attempts to de-escalate, the crew was forced to restrain the passenger with the tools available to them onboard. We are supporting the crew.
Management suspended the crew as a knee-jerk reaction to a short video clip that did not show the full incident. Management should be supporting the crew at this time not suspending them. We will be fighting this with every contractual and legal tool available, but we would hope there will be no need for that as management comes to their senses and supports the people on the frontline charged with keeping all passengers safe. As noted in our unruly passenger survey, if this is not immediately corrected, Flight Attendants may feel unsafe to come to work. Management has a legal duty to maintain a safe work environment for employees.”
