American Airlines passenger accused of assaulting a flight attendant over a menu dispute

The passenger was traveling from Barbados to Miami.

DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images

• An American Airlines passenger has been accused of assaulting a flight attendant.
• The passenger was traveling from Barbados to Miami, per a criminal complaint.
• The complaint alleged that he assaulted a crew member after objecting to the way he was spoken to.

An American Airlines passenger has been accused of assaulting a flight attendant during a dispute about menu options.

The passenger, who was named in a criminal complaint as Robert David Croizat, was accused of causing the incident midway through a flight from Barbados to Miami on March 8. Croizat's lawyer, Barry Wax, told Insider the passenger pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of assault.

The complaint alleged that Croizat insulted a cabin-crew member after taking issue with the way he was spoken to when given the choices for his meal. Croizat later began shouting at the attendant and "aggressively, demandingly, and loudly" ordering him and another flight attendant to "get the Captain out here," the complaint said.

During the altercation, Croizat touched a third flight attendant, pushing her twice after she told him not to touch her, the complaint said. It added that after Croizat refused to sit down, a flight attendant called the captain to inform him of the incident.

Croizat's lawyer told Insider that he "got into an argument with a flight attendant whom he felt was disrespecting him. Two other flight attendants became involved, Mr. Croizat tapped one of them on the back of her shoulder when her back was turned, and after she turned to face him, he poked her in the shoulder two times."

Representatives for American Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

Croizat's lawyer said in a statement: "This incident was entirely out of character for Mr. Croizat and represented an overreaction which he regrets."

The incident is the latest example of unruly behavior on board major airlines. Last month, a United flight had to turn around three hours after it took off after a man reportedly sat in a crew seat and got "in a shouting match" with a flight attendant.

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