Attacks on Flight Attendants Continue

Safety at Work

Boise, ID (WorkersCompensation.com) – A female airline passenger was restrained while the plane was rerouted after she hit two crew members who were trying to calm her down.

Officials with Alaska Airlines, said Flight 1057 from Portland, Ore., to Dallas Texas was disrupted when Tracy Barkhimer, 61, began displaying “erratic behavior.” The Boise Police Department said the flight left the Portland International Airport on Oct. 12 around 11:45 p.m. About 30 minutes into the flight the plane was diverted to the Boise Airport at around 1:16 a.m. Mountain Time on Oct. 14.

Officers at the Boise Police Department met the flight and arrested Barkhimer. Police said Barkhimer, the head of TABAS Co., a defense acquisition strategy consulting service, has previously held positions at Boeing, the Naval Air Systems Command and four years as a helicopter pilot for the U.S. Navy. Police reports said Barkhimer was acting erratically and hit two airline employees.

After attacking the employees, she was restrained in her seat. When the plane landed in Boise, the two crew members requested and signed affidavits for citizen’s arrest. Barkhimer was taken off the plane without incident and booked into the Ada County Jail on two counts of misdemeanor battery. Police said she posted her $600 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in court in early November.

Alaska Airlines said its two crew members were medically evaluated and cleared to fly.

"At Alaska Airlines, safety is our number one priority, and we do not tolerate violence of any kind against our employees. We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism, and we apologize for any concern or inconvenience this situation caused,” the airline said in a statement.

The attack is one of several against flight crew in the last few months.

In September, a Las Vegas woman assaulted a flight attendant on American Airlines flight.

According to police, Ketty Dilone was arrested on Sept. 16 for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant and intimidating other crew members during a flight from Punta Can, Dominican Republic to Las Vegas.

Police said Dilone was a passenger on the flight from its connection in Charlotte. Dilone allegedly walked down the aisle of the plane yelling and began verbally threatening multiple flight attendants.

Because of her behavior, flight attendants restrained her in her seat using zip ties and duct tape. As she was restrained, she allegedly kicked one of the flight attendants, causing her to fall.

While she was detained, she began to complain about the cuffs hurting her and talking about using rat poison to try to kill her father saying, “If anybody wants to kill somebody, put rat poison in it, but make sure it’s not expired and make sure you put a lot of it, because it didn’t work for my daddy. He just fell asleep.”

Crew members seated volunteer passengers next to her and stood watch over her during the plane’s descent.

When the plane arrived at Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport, officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department took Dilone into custody. She faces one count of interference with a flight crew and one count of assault by striking, beating or wounding. If convicted, she could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

And in August, a flight from Norfolk was diverted after a passenger attacked crew members and other passengers.

Officials said the incident happened on a Breeze Airways flight from Norfolk to Los Angeles. According to witnesses, an altercation broke out in the middle of the flight between a man later identified as David Leroy Carter, 46, of Los Angeles, and others on the plane.

Witnesses said Carter was being both “verbally and physically threatening” to both the crew and other passengers, including spitting on them, pushing them and putting his hands on them. Crew members were able to restrain him in a seat and the flight continued. However, flight recordings from air traffic control indicate he was able to break free of his restraints. Passengers on the plane helped flight attendants to subdue Carter again until the flight landed.

Breeze Airways confirmed the incident and said the flight was diverted to Grand Junction Airport in Grand Junction, Col. Officials said law enforcement met the plane when it landed and removed Carter. He was arrested by the Grand Junction Police Department. Police there said they’d received reports that an intoxicated passenger had become agitated and had been yelling racist slurs at airline staff while waving a skateboard.

Officials said the incident would be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to reports by the FAA, as of Sept. 28 some 1,205 incidents of unruly passengers have been reported on U.S. flights this year. While the number of reports of unruly passengers is higher than the average number per year prior to the pandemic, the number of incidents has dropped by more than 80 percent since reaching record highs in 2021. Last year, there were 2,120 recorded incidents of unruly passengers, or one incident per every 395 flights. In 2023, there were 2,076 such reports, and in 2022 there were 2,455. Unruly passenger reports reached record highs in 2021 with 5,973 – a 492 percent increase over previous years.

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