An assaultive and inebriated passenger who caused U.S. Airways flight attendants to arm themselves with hot coffee has been sentenced to four months in jail and 100 hours of community service.
Federal District Judge Raymond P. Moore on Tuesday also sentenced Joseph Wayne Lynch II, 35, of Colorado Springs to three years of supervised release and fined him $500.
During the flight of U.S. Airways Flight 580 from Philadelphia to Denver on Aug. 4, Lynch kissed and inappropriately touched a flight attendant on the small of her back, spewed obscenities and made threats, court records indicate.
Flight attendants were so alarmed with the man’s odd behavior that they armed themselves with an ice hammer, a pot of hot coffee and asked two “able bodied” passengers to protect them.
Lynch falsely claimed to be a Green Beret and said, “let’s go.” He pulled out pictures of his pot farm.
“Defendant’s misconduct impacted all five crew members and many passengers on this flight, and richly deserves the sentence of federal jail time imposed by the court,” U.S. Attorney John Walsh said in a statement.
“For the protection of the travelling public and crew, belligerent and abusive conduct on board a plane will not be tolerated, and will be vigorously prosecuted as a federal crime,” Walsh said.