WASHINGTON — A Swiss man pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges he assaulted a flight attendant on his way from Zurich to Dulles International Airport on Christmas Eve.
Early in the flight Saturday, flight attendants suspected the Swiss passenger, Martin Sievert, had smoked cigarettes in the airplane bathroom, according to federal court documents.
Other passengers and U.S. air marshals aboard the flight said they saw Sievert swaying as he walked back to his seat and described his bloodshot eyes, according to the documents. Once at his seat flight attendants discovered Sievert had been drinking a bottle of duty-free liquor.
Sievert handed the bottle over to the flight attendant, but then cracked open a beer he brought on the flight, which was also confiscated, according to the documents.
Later in the flight, when Sievert went to retrieve the bottle of liquor from the back of the plane, authorities said he assaulted a male flight attendant. The documents stated Sievert grabbed the flight attendant by the collar and “pulled him back, assaulting him and interfering with his flight duties.”
U.S. Air marshals handcuffed Sievert and were forced to tape his seat belt closed after he “continuously struggled” to unbuckle his seat belt, authorities said. At one point, Sievert was able to unbuckle himself and acted aggressively toward the air marshals and other passengers, court documents stated.
Sievert pleaded guilty to the federal charge of assault within special maritime and territorial jurisdictions. United Airlines said he is banned for life from flying on the airline.
