Grand jury indicts man for attacking airline crew | Dishes

A federal grand jury has indicted a man accused of injuring a flight attendant with a broken shot glass on a flight from Atlanta to New Orleans last year.

Nelson Montgomery, 40, was charged in federal court for the Eastern District of Louisiana after authorities said he restrained the woman on August 2, 2023 and cut her neck and one of her fingers. He was charged with obstructing a flight attendant Oct. 24.

Near the end of the flight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Louis Armstrong International Airport, a passenger on the plane seated next to Montgomery told flight crew that Montgomery had stabbed his neck and was seen bleeding from it, federal agents wrote in court papers.

According to court documents, Montgomery then got up from his seat and walked to the cockpit of the plane. A flight attendant noticed Montgomery's cut and asked passengers if anyone on board had medical training and could help, according to the documents.

Montgomery then slapped the microphone out of her hand, grabbed her and said, “Something's about to happen” and “Get the media here now.”

Montgomery slashed the flight attendant's neck before passengers intervened, pulled Montgomery away and held him until police boarded the plane after landing and arrested him, detailed records show.

When Montgomery was arrested by law enforcement, officers found a small shot glass that had been broken, leaving a serrated piece of glass at the base with blood on it. Paramedics took Montgomery to University Medical Center for treatment and the flight attendant was treated for her injuries at the airport.

Montgomery's arraignment is scheduled for next week. Attempts to reach his attorney for comment were not immediately successful.