June 20, 2008
Smoking, Punching, Cursing Queens Woman Forces Jet Blue Flight Detour
Get this woman a reality TV show! Christina Szele of Woodside, Queens created such a disturbance during a Jet Blue flight from JFK airport to San Francisco that pilots diverted the plane and landed in Denver, where federal authorities took her into custody. According to an affidavit obtained by the Smoking Gun, things started to go sideways after a flight attendant noticed Szele waiting on line for the bathroom with a book of matches and a cigarette, which were promptly seized.
Since smoking in the bathroom was nixed by the uptight flight attendant, the 35-year-old Szele – who sounds like a perfect match for Sean Penn – simply returned to her seat and “nonchalantly” lit up there. When a second flight attendant, one Paul Whyte, snatched the cigarette from her lips, she flew into a rage, firing off the N word and threatening to kill Whyte, who is black. The attendants subsequently moved her to the front of the plane and flex-cuffed her.
But no plastic handcuffs are strong enough to restrain Christina from Queens – she wriggled free and punched Whyte in the jaw! Attendants successfully restrained her with a second set of flex cuffs, and the flight was then detoured. In her statement to authorities, Szele blames the flight crew for serving her three vodka tonics, and insists she has no recollection of smoking or punching anyone. (The affidavit cites other passengers who confirm the flight crew's accounts.) She faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted on charges of interfering with a flight crew and assault.
Mug shot of Szele following a disorderly conduct bust in California last year via The Smoking Gun.
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Oh wow. People who look that mental should probably just be arrested pre-emtively. They are bound to do something at some point.
She blames the crew for serving her 3 vodka and tonics? Jesus, way to accept responsibility for freaking out. No need for the N-bombs though...........come on.
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not to mention: really, you black out after 3 vodka tonics? i call bull.
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Boy, I often have to be reminded that white trash is alive and thriving in the outer boroughs.
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John - why do you consider the flight attendants "uptight" if they are trying to enforce a federal law?
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She should get together with the couch-hiding guy.
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did they strap her down and intravenously administer the three vodka tonics?
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i want to marry her.
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That's an awesomely awful mugshot. Can you imaging sitting next to this crazy b*tch on that flight? I would have applauded the crew for taking her down.
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haha what an asshat. i hope she gets 25 years! make an example of her white trash ass.
i think "uptight" was sarcastic, 'James'.
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This girl should be put in jail for a few years to teach her what responsibility is, but she'll probably just receive a firm handslap and maybe have to do some public service.
#3, Really? So there's no white trash in the 'inner' borough of Manhattan? An arrogant douche says what?
#4, JDS tends to add irrelevant and often ill-humored adjectives and adverbs to his articles. Get used to it.
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I hope she gets the 20 yrs...
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20 Years ago it was perfectly alright to smoke on airplanes
Now you get 20 years in Federal Prison
brave new world here people
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someone please pass the soma
Our illustrious president is gonna talk again about "protecting our freedoms"
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spiritross: the 20 year sentence has more to do with this thank smoking:
"if convicted on charges of interfering with a flight crew and assault."
As a female Queens native, I weep.
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oops. "than" not "thank"
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why does it seem JetBlue attracts these types of passengers?
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does this surprise anybody? you know you all interact with somebody like this at least once a week in this city.
and @ # 12 this isn't for smoking, its for being a drunk asshole, dropping the n word, physically attacking somebody and "interfering with a flight crew"
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woah, she's crazy looking.
(i'd still hit it)
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Oh yeah, she's from Woodside.
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She's not white trash my little amateurs, she's Eurotrash!
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My favorite part of the affidavit is the witness accounts, like the one who smelled a match burning and looked up to see her puffing away. Nuts!
And I think she may have been drinking before she got on the plane, too.
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It probably was not necessary to have diverted the flight to Denver. Diversions can cost thousands of dollars and inconvenience everyone involved. Once this woman was finally restrained, she wasn't a threat any longer.
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She admitted to having two beers before she boarded the plane. Using Drunk Math, that means she had about 5 beers before getting on the plane.
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I think the passengers in such cases should be allowed to democratically vote on whether 1) their flight should be diverted or 2) the person is let off the plane in mid-flight (problem passenger? what problem passenger?) Some travelers have places to be and things to do without time for such jackassery.
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Nobody had the idea to youtube it?
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They should have a place in the cargo area for this cases... just dump them down a chute and continue the flight... You see, I'm a genius! I should patent this...
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oops, "these cases" not "this cases"...
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Growing up in Sunnyside, we all knew to avoid the wretched scum from Woodside.
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neckbeard,
You forgot to mention that she also threatened to kill a flight-attendant, right? Threatening murder counts for something.
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your uptight joke was not funny, it is not obvious enough to be sarcastic and it's just in the way you're a bad writer, you write for yourself not the readers.
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Most of the wretches moved to Williamsburg in the late 90's.
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Oh and ..A hot mess is she. OK im dun.
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Wow. Just...wow.
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I'm always curious if they put people like this on a No-Fly list, even if plead out or get out of the charge on a technicality. I would think that the airline has cause to ban her from all of their flights. One hopes at least.
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The flight attendant shouldn't have snatched the cigarette from her. The correct way to deal with obnoxious smokers is to use the fire extinguisher. A faceful of dry chemicals should be enough to stop them from lighting up.
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I used to be defense counsel for American Airlines and they most definitely have no-fly lists. They are quite extensive and (sometimes) arbitrary. Yet another reason to be on your best behavior while travelling.
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when are they going to finally learn to have those animal tranq guns for the flight crew...
?
Shoot her once in the ass and then duct ape her into a mummy. End of Story.
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As a previous commenter noted, what is it about JetBlue that attracts this sort of thing? I fly Northwest, Continental, United, BA, etc. and I've never seen anything close to this. No wonder that so many flight attendants these days seem so stressed out.
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Trash on air!!! NIICE act you slze -Szele_ idiot!
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At least the cops cared enough to check her for skin damage...
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Wait a second......Paul Whyte is black?!?!?! I'll be damned!
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Throw the book at her!
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16 & 38: These schmucks use JetBlue because it's the cheapest airline. That's why I use it!
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Nothing screams "drunk" more than that photo of Szele.
A few smoke-free years in prison should help cure her tobacco and alcohol addictions.
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I can't lie, my first thought after reading that and seeing the picture: I bet she's AMAZING in bed. She sleeps only with non-black people, of course.
This is nuts. She'll probably get far less after admitting to a substance/alcohol abuse problem and agreeing to go to rehab and do some community service.
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They should have diverted to Phoenix. Those airport cops have that "special touch" with wackjobs like her.
And I mourn the days of smoking on a flight. I used to put my one-hitter pot pipe side by side with a cigarette and smoke them both. Nobody noticed or cared as I climbed a little higher than "35,000 ft.".
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This story is way-funnier now that I know that crazy woman is from Woodside!
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Jen - still, the question hasn't been answered. Why is the flight attendant labeled as "uptight" when all she is doing is her job, that job being to enforce federal laws?
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Fucking idiot
Ruinign it for the rest of us that like to drink on a flight
Its not the alcohol its your IQ that makes you a moron
And its your lawyer that fucks it up for the rest of us
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She's a real special lady.
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Alcohol certainly brings out the worst in some of us. I can't help but think that underneath this racist, drunk, nicotine addicted woman is something better. I certainly hope for her sake.
As for landing at an alternative airport, well ... you never know the strength of a nicotine drunk racist. I don't know about the racism, but nicotine-fits make me want to run marathons ... She probably won't get 20 years, but she is in a lot of trouble.