Manhattan Woman Starts Airplane Brawl, Federal Prosecutors Say

NEW YORK, NY — A Manhattan woman is facing federal charges after starting a brawl on an international flight that sent three flight attendants to the hospital, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Ires Alves Pereira, 40, was aboard a November 27 Delta Airlines flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil to John F. Kennedy International Airport when she hit the person sitting next to her in the face, prosecutors from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York said in an indictment.

After striking the other passenger, a fight ensued which caused flight attendants to step in and attempt to break up the altercation. Pereira's violent behavior escalated when the flight attendants stepped in, prosecutors said. Pereira hit, kicked and bit three flight attendants as they worked to restrain her.

At one point, Pereira broke the glasses of a man trying to help the flight crew when she kicked him in the face, the U.S. Attorneys said.

The flight attendants and passengers were eventually able to restrain the woman in a seat for the rest of the flight, prosecutors said. Three of the flight attendants went to the hospital upon landing in New York for treatment, prosecutors said.

Pereira, who has dual citizenship in Brazil and the United States, was seen drinking alcohol on during the flight before her violent outburst, prosecutors said.

Charges against Pereira were not detailed in the indictment, but she was released on $100,000 bond, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said.

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