American Airlines said two women were arrested on Thursday after verbally and physically assaulting other passengers and crew members on a flight that was diverted to Phoenix.
The airline said the flight was traveling from Dallas-Fort Worth to Los Angeles when it was diverted due to an altercation with a client on board, around 5:15 pm.
As soon as the flight arrived in Phoenix, local police removed and arrested two female passengers, who were later identified as being 30 years old, Kelly Pichardo and Leeza Rodriguez, 29, for allegedly verbally and physically assaulting other customers and crew members. .
Phoenix police officers say the two women were using racial slurs when a male passenger asked them to stop swearing.
Pichardo would have spat on the man who then began to register the two women. The police say it was when Rodriguez hit the man’s hand to stop him from registering them.
American Airlines officials said, “their behavior was disruptive and unacceptable, and they have been placed on our internal list of refusals pending further investigation.”
Rodriguez was charged for disorderly conduct and Pichardo was charged for disorderly conduct and aggression
The flight continued to Los Angeles’ LAX and arrived without further incident.