Once again we remind you not to drink too much at the airport before getting on your flight. We know airports are boring and sad and they make you want to kill the pain with copious amounts of gin. Don’t do it — or you could end up punching a JetBlue flight attendant in the face.
Meet Christina Elizabeth Szele of Woodside, NY. She was charged with assault and interference with flight attendants after she caused such a disturbance that her flight was diverted to Colorado. According to an FBI agent who witness the event, Szele yelled “obscenities and racial epithets” when a flight attendant tried to keep her from smoking, prompting the flight attendants to restrain her in plastic cuffs… Szele then broke through the cuffs, and commenced punching.
Szele had been drinking and doesn’t remember any of it, says the AP.
Woman accused of punching JetBlue flight attendant [Examiner]
(Photo: So Cal Metro )
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Plastic cuffs have a breaking strength of like 200lbs. Given their small surface area, you would break the skin way before you reached that. Unless you have the high end models, you need a cutter to open them(high end models actually use a standard handcuff key). I don’t think they put them on right, not that she broke them.
If they serve you drinks, they should let you smoke.
What the… People need to calm DOWN.
“Plastic cuffs”? Like Zip ties? How did she break through those?
You couldn’t pay me enough to be a flight attendant these days.
The “easy path” here would have been to let her smoke it and pass out for the rest of the flight. But I’d like to know how she got on board in the first place. You can’t board a plane drunk. Not even a little bit. If she had enough to the point of blacking out (she said she doesn’t remember it), then she must have been pretty obviously drunk and staggering / slurring.
She’ll probably be thrown in Guantanamo for being a “terrorist”.
Does JetBlue charge $15 for the FIRST set of plasti-cuffs or is that one free?
You’d be amazed what people can do when the liquor is talking. Sounds like this woman turned into the incredible Hulk.
She’s a she-man hurculesetta.
@Git Em SteveDave has a crush on the Swedes: And while you’re smoking and drinking, why not some gambling and prostitutes? Hell, why not give out needles? Oh wait didn’t Virgin already try this?
@Git Em SteveDave has a crush on the Swedes: Difficult, but probably not impossible. The likeliest scenario is that the woman was wearing a watch and or bracelets which would keep the plastic from cutting into her skin as she struggled.
“Christina Elizabeth Szele” sounds like such a nice name, too. Good luck getting a job now, sweetheart, in the days of your name plastered all over the internets.
that passenger sounds like a woman of class and refinement.
Not me. I’m a tame and happy drunk. Give me enough gin and tonic, and I’ll forget all about whatever it is that might make me upset at the airline.
@milknhoney55: Could have been PCP
@milknhoney55: did she call the flight attendant “sugartits”?
Awesome…
If they leave enough slack in the zip tie to allow you to rotate your wrist, you can twist the plastic until it breaks.
Not that I’ve ever been in a position to try it, but that’s what came to mind when I wondered how to break it.
@MissTicklebritches: ha!
@ilovemom:
If the airlines really want to ease the fuel pain, they could charge extra for allowing passengers to smoke. $7 per drink, $2 per smoke, $15 for an ashtray, $4 for matches. And they could profit more off the non-smokers too. $15 for an oxygen mask so you wouldn’t have to breathe the evil 2nd hand smoke. I know I’d pay up to $20 for a pair of earplugs to block out the screaming whining children. Or alternatively, I’ be willing to fork over $20 for some sedatives. (to accomplish the same thing)
plastic cuffs?
I think there is a grammar issue here: “According to an FBI agent who witness the event,” should be:
“According to an FBI agent who witnessed the event,”
Parallelism…
I AM THE LIQUOR!!!
@MissTicklebritches: I think she said, “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c***.” Then commenced punching.
And of course, she remembers nothing. Nothing!
Dang, these “blame the consumer” sentiments just won’t stop!
They should have let her smoke. How does that old saying go “The customer always throws rights”. Something like that.
If the airlines really want to ease the fuel pain, they could charge extra for allowing passengers to smoke.
I think they should have a small smoking room, like a lavatory but with an aspirated air system and flame retardant walls. Just slide your credit card and it’s $10 to use the room for 10 minutes. On a trans-Pacific flight the room might generate hundreds in revenue, plus attract extra business from smokers. I’m not a smoker but I welcome anything that makes things smooth for everyone.
@timmus: Sure, and when they come back from the room and sit next to me, I get to gag on their smoke-stink.
@timmus:
They would make a killing off the smoking fees and maybe…just maybe even bring down the costs for us non smokers! (But alas we’ll probably get hit with a convenience fee for simply being on a plane that has such a room)
How would she have anything to light the cigarette? I didn’t think a weapon like fire would be allowed on the plane.
@Invalid_User_Name:
nice??? so what constitutes a bad name? lafawnda, laquisha, jamal, hadji….nice = waspy?
Helluva drug…
@balthisar:
that’s too funny!
Be careful, people around here will start calling you a corporate shill…
@Invalid_User_Name:
nice??? so what constitutes a bad name? lafawnda, laquisha, jamal, hadji….nice = waspy?
Probably slipped them off her wrists.@BigPapaCherry:
@tripnman: No kidding, you can bet she’ll get a bill from them for the cuffs!
This situation just goes to show how high stress flying is these days. Too much for me.
@Mayor McRib: I’m also surprised by the fact she got her cigarettes on the plane. They are pretty likely to be filled with highly explosive stuff and lighting them would kill everyone on the plane instantly.
@Tightlines:
“Smoke stink”? Would it help if I rip a few burrito farts your way for you to bask in instead?
I know it’s an unpopular view, but I blame the consumer here.
I thought nothing could make me feel sorry for the evil airlines…and I was right.
Not that the attendant deserved to get hit. But pissed off people and alcohol never mix well. If airports and airlines are going to serve alcohol, they should expect the drunken consequences. Bars expect it–they have bouncers. Sporting events expect it–they have security. Even weddings expect it, as everyone knows Aunt Gertrude is going to have one too many from the open bar and will end up dancing on top of a table at some point.
These days airlines are going out of their way to crap on passengers to make their lives as emotionally and financially miserable as they possibly can: Taking soap out of bathrooms. No food. Charge for water. Charge for picking an assigned seat, which will likely be covered in urine. Charge for checked bags. Deny almost everything to carry-on. Hold you hostage delayed on the tarmac for 4 hours; if you get thirsty while you wait, that’ll be $2 for a sip of soda. If you complain, it’s FAA lockup time when you land. On and on, the evil goes.
Airlines are behaving so dastardly that I almost think they are conducting some sort of secret government lab rat experiment to find out much psychological abuse humans can take before we crack. The results are in for Christina. Clearly not much abuse is required for her to lose her mind.
I’m surprised so many here would be ok with someone smoking on a plane. Small contained area + smoking = NO!, in my book.
Plus, you know… the burning something + being drunk thing.
@Steaming Pile: Daddy!
When you gotta smoke…you gotta smoke. I can’t believe this doesn’t happen more on longer flights.
@timmus: Then some toad would sue the airlines when they came down with lung cancer. The legal department where I work told the company to remove all the ashtrays around the building because just having ashtrays could be perceived as helping someone smoke and that leaves you wide open for a lawsuit.
@Tightlines: …Then commenced punching… while making jokes about bomb bomb bomb – bombing Iran.
And said “you cant do it my friend, you cant do it” before snapping off those plastic cuffs.
Some bars in LA charge for an ashtray, pay the maximum fine every month and still make a killing.
Good for Christina! Who gave flight attendants the right to restrain/handcuff passenegers?
Even if they were to allow smoking on the plane, how would they ever regulate the actual lighting of the cigarette?!
Who doesn’t want to punch a JetBlue flight attendant in the face?
@luz:
Here in Hawaii they’re trying to repeal the ridiculous smoking ban because they’re losing big time tourism from Japan. The Japanese love to smoke.
@Git Em SteveDave has a crush on the Swedes: @BigPapaCherry: Read a different article that said she wriggled free, slid her hands out of the cuffs (probably weren’t pulled tight enough).
@AnderBobo:
“Even if they were to allow smoking on the plane, how would they ever regulate the actual lighting of the cigarette?!”
It used to be a no brainer before Bic lighters became weapons of mass destruction.
I don’t care if she was drunk…she needs to be punished severely.
Kudos to the editors for showing how bad consumers can be…cuz many posters here think consumers are always right and companies are evil.
As a small business owner, I know there are lying, cheating and bad consumers.