First-class passenger Christopher Alexander Morgan was arrested at the end of a Delta flight after allegedly using anti-gay slurs against a flight attendant, refusing to follow directions, and throwing a glass of ice and an onboard telephone at the crew member.
Morgan called the flight attendant a “fag” and a “queer.”
He “said the flight attendant was homosexual and that this made him uncomfortable,” The Daily Beast reports, citing an affidavit that also “says Morgan admitted becoming angry at being denied another drink.”
Morgan was arrested on April 22 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. He is facing charges of interference with flight crew members or attendants, which can lead to up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
He “reclined his seat all the way back and refused to put on his seatbelt,” at takeoff, then later ordered an alcoholic beverage. When he wanted a second the flight attendant suggested a non-alcoholic drink instead, which “angered” him.
“Morgan said that he is homophobic and that it is possible he could have been intimidating to the flight attendants,” the affidavit concludes. “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 denied the physical assault.
Another flight attendant guarded the cockpit door for the remainder of the flight, “out of security concerns for the flight crew,” says the affidavit.
Some weighed in on the disturbing report:
Image by Colin Brown via Flickr and a CC license