JetBlue passenger suffocated flight attendant with tie and begged to be shot, report says

• A passenger on a JetBlue flight from Boston to Puerto Rico allegedly suffocated a flight attendant with a tie.

• He screamed he wanted to get shot as he tried to break into the cockpit, CBSN Boston reported.

• The passenger was arrested and faces a federal charge, according to the FBI.

• See more stories on the Insider business page.

An unruly passenger on a JetBlue flight from Boston to San Juan, Puerto Rico, was arrested after allegedly suffocating a flight attendant with his tie as he tried to force his way into the plane’s cockpit on Wednesday night, according to CBSN Boston.

Khalil El Dahr is said to have become agitated after a phone call he tried to make was unsuccessful, local media reported. Shortly after, he rushed to the cockpit of Flight 261, shouting that he wanted to be shot in Spanish and Arabic, investigators said.

A flight attendant opened the cockpit door, CBSN Boston said, and El Dahr strangled her with his tie, it was reported. He then attempted to break into the cockpit, local media said.

El Dahr kicked the flight attendant in the chest as he tightened the tie and prevented the crew member from breathing, according to an FBI affidavit.

He was restrained by six or seven crew members using ties, flexible cuffs and seat belt extenders, CBSN Boston reported.

El Dahr was arrested in Puerto Rico after the flight landed and faced at least one federal charge of interfering with flight crew members, the affidavit states.

He is still in detention in Puerto Rico, the Washington Post reported.

Insider reached out to JetBlue for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

This summer, there was a wave of incidents of unruly behavior on flights, including travelers hitting, yelling and harassing staff members.

Last month, a JetBlue Airways passenger was fined $ 45,000 for lifting the head of a flight attendant’s skirt, the Federal Aviation Administration said, Insider’s Dominick Reuter reported.

Insider’s Zahra Tayeb reported that flight attendants say the stress of dealing with problematic passengers has left them exhausted and fearful for their safety.

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