Frontier passenger chokes off-duty flight attendant after trying to open exit door and cockpit on Chicago flight, police say | CNN

A Frontier Airlines flight heading to Chicago on Sunday had to divert to Miami International Airport because a passenger choked an off-duty flight attendant shortly after he tried to open an emergency exit door and enter the cockpit, police records show. The passenger, Juan Gabriel Reyes, 51, has been charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants and assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction, court records show. He has been appointed a federal public defender and has not yet entered a plea. CNN has reached out to Reyes’ attorney for comment. The incident came as the FAA has received 687 reports of unruly passengers this year. Reyes, 51, became disruptive about 45 minutes after Frontier flight 3345 departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, en route to Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, saying he wanted to get off the plane and trying to open an emergency exit door, according to an arrest affidavit from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and a federal criminal complaint. After he was prevented from opening the door, Reyes approached the cockpit and began “shoving his shoulder aggressively on the pilot’s door,” the documents say. As a flight atten