Female American Airlines worker is left with permanent scarring after male passenger, 29, ‘punched her repeatedly’ before being escorted off plane

• Bruce Luke Machiavelo, 29, allegedly punched and slammed an American Airlines Manager to the floor on Monday  
• The passenger was upset that he couldn’t access his medication in his checked bag and said that he ‘took planes down with panic attacks in the past’ 
• The female employee was taken to the hospital and Machiavelo was hit with multiple charges 

A female American Airlines employee was left permanently scarred after a male passenger repeatedly punched her, according to a report. 

The reported incident happened on Monday night when Bruce Luke Machiavelo, 29, from Fairfield County, Connecticut, was on a flight from Miami to LaGuardia Airport in New York.

Machiavelo had told a flight attendant that he suffers from panic attacks and that he wanted to retrieve his medication that was in his checked luggage, according to a Miami-Dade police report. 

Once the attendant explained to the passenger that he wasn’t going to be able to get his medication, he told her that he ‘took planes down with panic attacks in the past’, the report said.  

Machiavelo was then escorted off the aircraft, arrested and hit with multiple charges including aggravated battery, battery, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence. 

Bruce Luke Machiavelo, 29, reportedly left an American Airlines passenger permanently scarred after he repeatedly punched her. He then went on to shove a gate agent to the floor, police said

The violent incident began after Machiavelo told a flight attendant that he gets panic attacks and needed to access his medication in his checked bag

When he was taken off the airplane, Machiavel reportedly pushed and screamed at the American Airline’s manager who approached him, police said. 

He punched her several times in the face before he threw her to the floor, causing her to bash her head on the gangway, according to authorities. As he rushed off the plane, Machiavelo also shoved a gate agent to the floor, leading her to injure her hands.

The manager was taken to a nearby hospital with permanent scarring to her face and head, the report said. 

Officers met the frantic passenger at the gate after American Airlines employees informed them of the conflict. 

They witnessed him on the floor as he kicked and screamed, while several passengers held him down. 

The suspect initially resisted arrest but was soon taken into custody before he was brought to a hospital, the report said. 

Once the flight attendant told him he would not be able to get his medication, Machiavelo said that he ‘took planes down with panic attacks in the past,’ according to a report

In response to the manic incident, American Airlines issued a statement that said: ‘Yesterday evening, law enforcement was requested at Miami International Airport due to a disturbance on the jetbridge where a customer physically assaulted a team member.’ 

‘Acts of violence against our colleagues are not tolerated by American Airlines and we are committed to working closely with law enforcement in their investigation.’ 

‘Our thoughts are with our team member, and we are ensuring they have the support they need at this time,’ the statement said. 

According to NBC News, Machiavelo was expected to be booked into jail after he was cleared at the hospital, but it is unclear if that happened.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Miami Dade Police Department but officials did not respond in time for this report. 

The latest incident was a string of ongoing run of bad behavior seen at airports and aboard planes. 

On Sunday night, a Southwest Airlines passenger escaped a stationary plane by opening the emergency hatch and running across the tarmac at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

The unidentified man was arrested at a New Orleans-area airport after attempting a bizarre escape out of the emergency hatch of a plane Sunday night

After the passenger jumped out of the aircraft, he hoped on the wing of the plane and then sprinted across the tarmac and tried to hijack an airport service truck. 

The 38-year-old man was taken to a hospital for an evaluation and authorities say that ‘deputies believed he was suffering from a mental health emergency.’

The man has not been named by Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, but they said he is believed to be a resident of Atlanta.

Officials said that he is not expected to face criminal charges locally, but the investigation has now been referred to federal authorities. 

Source: Read Full Article