
California man charged with assaulting American Airlines flight attendant
CBSN
A California man is facing criminal charges stemming from the violent assault of an American Airlines flight attendant last week. Brian Hsu, 20, has been charged with interference with a flight crew and assault within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, authorities announced Monday.
The flight from New York to Orange County, California, was diverted to Denver after the alleged assault, which American Airlines CEO Doug Parker called "one of the worst displays of unruly behavior we've ever witnessed."
"After a flight attendant, who was working in a different cabin, bumped this passenger, we're told, she then walked into one of the flight galleys and this passenger approached her and punched her in the face at least twice," Paul Hartshorn Jr., with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, told CBS Los Angeles after the incident. "That's what we know right now and she sustained broken bones in her nose and her face."

In the past year, over 135 million passengers traveled to the U.S. from other countries. To infectious disease experts, that represents 135 million chances for an outbreak to begin. To identify and stop the next potential pandemic, government disease detectives have been discreetly searching for viral pathogens in wastewater from airplanes. Experts are worried that these efforts may not be enough.