First-Class Flier Hurls Homophobic Abuse At Flight Attendant, Assaults Victim With Phone

A first-class passenger on an airplane was arrested on Friday after creating a ruckus during the flight that involved him hurling homophobic slurs at a flight attendant who had refused to serve him any more alcohol.

Christopher Alexander Morgan was riding a Delta flight that departed from Atlanta and touched down at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport when he found himself angered with a flight attendant after they refused to serve him more drinks, according to the Daily Beast.

Morgan had made trouble beforehand during the flight due to the fact that he reclined his seat and refused to put on his seatbelt before and during the liftoff of the plane, with his attitude described as “uncooperative and would not comply with their instructions.”

He was served one alcoholic beverage during the flight, and when he asked for another, the flight attendant reportedly suggested him a non-alcoholic drink instead. Angered by this, he started hurling homophobic slurs at the flight attendant before throwing a glass of ice at him, NCRM reported.

A passenger on the plane attempted to deescalate the situation, but this only moved to make Morgan even angrier, and when the flight attendant attempted to inform the captain of Morgan’s temper tantrum, he reportedly took the telephone on the plane and hit him in the chest with it.

“According to H.D., Morgan then got out of his seat, grabbed the telephone from H.D., and hit H.D. in the chest with the telephone,” the affidavit said. “Passenger R.O. reported that he heard Morgan call H.D. a ‘fag’ and that he observed Morgan take the airplane phone from H.D. and throw it at him.”

Morgan was arrested once the flight touched down in Phoenix. He has admitted to making homophobic statements to the flight attendant due to his belief that the man was a homosexual, but has denied throwing the glass at him and hitting him in the chest with the telephone.

“Morgan said that he is homophobic and that it is possible he could have been intimidating to the flight attendants,” the affidavit stated. “He said that his homophobia may have caused his temper towards the flight attendant to escalate and he admitted that he called H.D. a queer.”

Morgan is being charged with interference with flight crew members or attendants, which can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

To date, the Federal Aviation Administration has received over 1,233 reports of unruly passengers in 2022, with over 370 investigations started to look into the allegations being put forward.