NYPD Cop Intervenes in Scuffle on JetBlue Flight

NEW YORK – An off-duty New York City police officer subdued and handcuffed an intoxicated passenger who attacked a flight attendant during a scuffle on board a JetBlue plane.

The NYPD says Anibal Mercado intervened after 22-year-old Antonio Ynoa of Brooklyn punched a flight attendant in the face early Sunday on JetBlue Flight 832 from the Dominican Republic to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Authorities say the assault happened after the attendant told Ynoa to stop drinking duty-free alcohol.

Mercado, a patrol cop in the Bronx, told reporters that he wrestled Ynoa to the ground and restrained him with plastic handcuffs kept on board. JetBlue says the aircraft landed safely.

The FBI says Ynoa will be arraigned Monday in federal court in Brooklyn on charges of assault and interference with a flight crew.