DOJ: Frontier Airlines Flight Attendants Assaulted by California Man Following Disneyland Weekend

This week, a man from California was charged by the federal government for attacking flight attendants on a trip to San Francisco. The plane had to be rerouted to another airport due to the incident, according to the Justice Department's statement on Thursday.

On Thursday, Charles Angel Salva, a 30-year-old man from Fremont, was charged with interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

According to a federal court complaint, Salva was a passenger on Frontier Airlines Flight 3581, which left John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and headed for San Francisco International Airport on Monday.

During the climb, flight attendants discovered that the oxygen masks in a row in the middle of the aircraft were missing from their overhead compartment.

According to authorities, when they examined the overhead compartment, they found that Salva had his hand inside. A passenger informed investigators that Salva appeared anxious and seemed to want to disembark from the plane.

According to court documents, the passenger stated that Salva accidentally pulled down the oxygen masks from the overhead compartment and got his hand stuck. He then yelled profanities and declared, "We are all going to hell" and "This airplane is going down."

According to authorities, a flight attendant restrained Salva as he attempted to grab passengers. Salva then allegedly ran toward the back of the aircraft and grabbed the lanyard around a flight attendant's neck, saying, "I’m going to choke this b----," while attempting to choke her.

Federal prosecutors stated that he pushed another flight attendant "with force" and declared he would murder everyone.

Authorities boarded the plane at Ontario International Airport in California and saw passengers holding down Salva, who had kicked the second flight attendant in the leg.

Salva was eventually placed on a gurney by responding officers, restrained with soft cuffs, and taken to a local hospital. Meanwhile, the flight attendant whose leg was allegedly kicked by Salva was also taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

The Frontier airline expressed its deepest gratitude to the flight crew, other passengers, local and federal law enforcement, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, for their assistance in a recent incident.

The passenger informed investigators that they were returning to San Francisco with Salva and his 3-year-old daughter after spending the weekend at Disneyland. According to court documents, on Sunday, Salva left his daughter with the unnamed passenger and their family before disappearing.

The Anaheim Police Department contacted the passenger to inform them that Salva was found covered in sewage at a liquor store.

In a police interview, Salva reportedly admitted to being a child molester and molesting his 3-year-old daughter repeatedly, resulting in the loss of his custody rights.

He allegedly admitted to taking ecstasy before boarding the plane and thought everyone was trying to get him to confess his crimes, so he tried to pull the emergency flight button to make the plane crash, authorities claimed.

Allegedly, he assaulted flight attendants due to his fear of being exposed as a pedophile and hearing voices that triggered thoughts of being a pedophile, according to police.

Salva faces up to 20 years in federal prison.