A Bronx passenger has been sentenced to four months in prison by an Arizona judge after she pleaded guilty to interfering with the crew of an American Airlines flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles.
Kelly Pichardo, 32, admitted to causing a riot with her co-defendant Lisa Rodriguez on American Airlines Flight AA776. The pilots were so amazed by the behavior of the women that they decided to make an emergency landing in Phoenix, where both friends were taken away by law enforcement.
Pichardo and Rodriguez were sitting together in the first class cabin when a fellow traveler reprimanded them for allegedly using racial language during a loud conversation among themselves.
Pichardo responded by spitting and shouting racial slurs at the man, then knocked his cell phone out of his hands when he tried to record what was happening.
The flight attendants intervened in the dispute, but in the end, one of them “fell under the distribution.” American Airlines described the women’s behavior as “alarming and unacceptable” and said they were both on an internal “no-fly blacklist”. At least while the investigation is ongoing.
“There is a line between boorish behavior on an airplane and criminal activity, and the defendant crossed it,” Prosecutor Gary Restaino commented on the verdict to the violator. “First class passengers are not immune from prosecution: verbal and physical intimidation by the defendant disrupted the journey of both passengers and crew.”
Pichardo also faces 36 months of supervised life upon release and is ordered to pay $9,123 in restitution to American Airlines.
Rodriguez also pleaded guilty to interfering with crew members, but she will not be sentenced until November 7, 2022.