Man fined $52,500 for allegedly punching flight attendant now faces criminal charges

A federal grand jury in Seattle indicted a man accused of punching a flight attendant in the face twice and trying to open the cockpit door late last year during a flight from Hawaii to Washington state. Ryan Cajimat, 21, of Kapolei, Hawaii, is charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants as well as assault within a special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

He is scheduled to be arraigned November 18.

Investigators say Cajimat was on a Delta Air Lines flight from Honolulu to Seattle on Christmas Eve 2020 when he became disruptive and started struggling with flight attendants. He was restrained for the rest of the flight and was removed from the plane in Seattle.