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UPDATE: 2 Brothers Arrested on Suspicion of Assaulting Pilot

Pilot was punched in the face

Two men were arrested Wednesday night at Miami International Airport after they allegedly attacked an American Airlines pilot on a flight headed to San Francisco, police and airline officials said.

Flight 1755 was taxiing out of the Miami airport at about 9 p.m. Wednesday when a passenger who seemed intoxicated failed to comply with flight crew instructions, according to police.

The suspect, Jonathan Baez, 27, was sleeping and not wearing his seat belt, and when a flight attendant tried unsuccessfully to wake him up, she became concerned he was drunk or on drugs, according to the Miami-Dade police arrest affidavit.

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The flight attendant told the pilot, who decided to turn the plane around, the affidavit said.

"(The crew) didn't want that to escalate in the air," airline spokesman Tim Smith said.

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The pilot and the flight attendant then went to wake up Baez and tell him he could not fly because of his condition, the affidavit said. Baez's brother, Luis Daniel Baez, 29, was also on the flight and decided to go with his brother, according to the document.

The affidavit said the pair became belligerent as they were walking toward the door, and Luiz Baez told the pilot he would have him killed the next time he flies to San Juan.

The brothers left the aircraft, but then Jonathan Baez allegedly returned and punched the pilot in the face, causing a large bruise and lacerations, and blurring the vision in his left eye, the affidavit said.

A flight attendant tried to intervene and was hit in the shoulder. The pilot then decided to escort the suspects on the jet bridge to make sure they left the plane, the affidavit said, although Smith said the pilot was actually walking to the gate to discuss flight logistics. The brothers allegedly jumped on the pilot and started punching his body and chest.

They chased him into the terminal area and continued to beat him, the affidavit said. Flight crew members and other passengers were finally able to subdue Jonathan Baez, who was arrested on suspicion of aggravated and simple battery, and Luis Baez, who was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and battery.

The pilot was checked out by paramedics and declined further treatment, Smith said. A few hours later, the flight was able to take off and arrived at SFO early this morning, he said. The FBI is investigating the incident because assaulting an airline crewmember is a federal offense, Smith said.

- Bay City News


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