Just when you thought things couldn’t get stranger in the air these days, a man was arrested for having a mid-air meltdown that resulted in the assault of a fellow passenger and a crew member on his flight. The “why” of it all is the most frightening part.
Delange Augustin was on board a March 10 American Airlines flight from Savannah, Ga. to Miami. Shortly after takeoff, the 31-year-old man, who was traveling with his sister, was approached by flight attendants who observed him having what they described as “what appeared to be a fit of epilepsy,” according to The Independent.
The crew members said Augustin was shaking as he stomped and yelled violently. But when they went to check on him, Augustin kicked one of them in the chest with both feet, knocking the flight attendant to the ground.
The situation escalated as the pilots began the process of returning the plane to Savannah and Augustin began “punching and kicking the seat and passenger in front of him.” As his fit intensified, his fellow passengers began wondering whether or not they would have to jump in and help.
“Myself and my friend were talking and we’re like, ‘We’re going to have to take this guy down,’” passenger Rob Rosenberg told CBS News Miami. “He was being so violent, you were like, this is not normal, he doesn’t care anymore.”
Rosenberg was right. When the plane landed in Savannah, Augustin charged the front door while swinging violently. Rosenberg and his friend were able to subdue Augustin, who was holding on to his sister. Once on the ground, he swallowed a set of rosary beads.
“She had a bun in her hair, and he grabbed a hold of her bun in her hair, and he grabbed her pants, and he wouldn’t let her go,” Rosenberg said. “So, they tased him, once, twice, three times. He still didn’t let go. At that point, they had to cut the woman’s hair to make him let go.”
According to arrest documents obtained by CBS News, Augustin and his sister, Medjina Augustin, were on their way to Haiti to “flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature.” Delange allegedly told Medjina he believed that “Satan’s disciples” had followed them onto the plane. According to The Independent, Medjina Augustin told authorities her brother swallowed the rosary beads “because they are a weapon of strength in the spiritual warfare.”
Delange Augustin is facing several charges, including misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor obstruction of police and felony criminal property damage.