Unruly Passenger Arrested After Attacking Flight Attendant

DULLES, VA -- A passenger on a flight from Dulles International Airport was arrested last Thursday shortly after the plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to multiple news reports. A New York man faces multiple charges of assault.

Port Authority officers responded to a call on Jan. 9, around 9 p.m., to the report of an assault of a flight attendant aboard CommutAir flight 4965 from Dulles to Newark. Once the plane had landed and its door was opened, Matthew Dingley, 28, of New York charged the responding officers, who fell down the plane's stairs, according to NJ.com. Other officers assisted and eventually restrained Dingley.

The whole incident began when Dingley allegedly banged on the cockpit door while the plane was in flight, according to NBC New York.

“This guy was in a full sprint, right up to the cockpit, hits the cockpit, starts banging on it,” passenger Mike Egbert told NBC New York.

A flight attendant attempted to intervene, but Dingley attacked her.

The injured flight attendant along with six officers who received non-life threatening injuries during the scuffle to restrain Dingley were transported to an area hospital for treatment.

The Port Authority charged Dingley with aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, resisting arrest, and interfering with transportation. He is being held in custody at New Jersey Department of Corrections.

For more ...

WJLA