Woman sentenced to 4 months in prison after argument causes flight to divert to Phoenix

Angela Cordoba Perez, Arizona Republic
·2 min read
2
A New York woman was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to interference with flight crew in relation to an argument on an American Airlines flight that was diverted to Phoenix.
A New York woman was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to interference with flight crew in relation to an argument on an American Airlines flight that was diverted to Phoenix.

A New York woman was sentenced to four months in prison after her use of racial slurs sparked an argument during a flight to Los Angeles, prompting the pilot to divert the plane to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Kelly Pichardo, 32, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to four months in prison and 36 months of supervised release after she pled guilty to interference with flight crew members, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release on Friday. She was ordered to pay $9,123 in restitution to American Airlines.

The incident happened when Pichardo and her co-defendant Leeza S. Rodriguez, also of the Bronx, were traveling first class on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2021.

Witnesses told officers that Pichardo and Rodriguez were using racial slurs when a male passenger asked them to stop using that language, according to Phoenix police. According to witnesses, Pichardo was upset and allegedly spit at the man.

The man started recording the incident on his cellphone and Rodriguez allegedly struck his hand to stop him, according to police.

The argument made the pilot divert the flight to Phoenix so Pichardo and Rodriguez could be removed from the plane, according to the Justice Department. After landing, Phoenix police arrested Pichardo and Rodriguez.

A New York woman was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to interference with flight crew in relation to an argument on an American Airlines flight that was diverted to Phoenix.
A New York woman was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to interference with flight crew in relation to an argument on an American Airlines flight that was diverted to Phoenix.

Rodriguez also pled guilty to interfering with a flight crew and is set to be sentenced on Nov. 7.

American Airlines placed both women on its internal refuse list.

“There is a line between boorish behavior on an airplane and criminal activity, and the defendant clearly crossed it,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino in the release.  “First-class passengers are not immune from prosecution: defendant’s verbal and physical intimidation disrupted the travel of passengers and crew alike.”

The FBI investigated this incident with the help of Phoenix police.

As of Sept. 6, there have been 1,918 reports of unruly passengers so far this year, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration. In that time frame, 663 investigations were started and 450 enforcement action cases were initiated.

Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Woman sentenced to prison for argument that diverted flight to Phoenix