A Russian woman accused of biting and kicking United Airlines flight attendants during a booze-fueled midair meltdown has had all criminal charges against her dropped — because US immigration authorities deported her, according to reports.
Kristina Kedysheva, 37, faced a maximum of 21 years behind bars on federal charges of interfering with a flight crew and assault aboard an aircraft.
But federal prosecutors in Maine have now abandoned the case after the Russian national was removed from the United States.
“She wasn’t prosecuted, she was removed by immigration authorities,” said Assistant US Attorney Andrew McCormack, according to the Asbury Park Press.
The dismissal came despite allegations that Kedysheva caused chaos aboard the transatlantic flight from Milan, Italy to Newark, NJ, forcing pilots to make an unscheduled landing in Bangor, Maine, according to an FBI court document.
The trouble began about four hours into the flight when Kedysheva repeatedly demanded more alcohol after already consuming several drinks.
When flight attendants refused to serve her, she allegedly became increasingly aggressive.
She ignored instructions to return to her seat, began filming crew members with her phone and calling them “racist” as they tried to restrain her.
She had to be held down by five people to stop her from trying to open a door midair— and then bit and kicked a flight attendant who refused to serve her more booze, according to court documents.
During the struggle, Kedysheva allegedly sank her teeth into one flight attendant’s wrist before kicking the same crew member in the stomach.
The flight attendant suffered a shoulder injury requiring medical attention, according to the court documents.
Crew members and passengers — including a couple from Toms River, NJ — helped overpower the unruly traveler and kept her restrained until the aircraft landed.
Flight 18 had 274 passengers and 13 crew members aboard when it diverted to Bangor International Airport, where Kedysheva was removed from the plane.
At the airport, she was met by local police, US Customs and Border Protection officers and FBI Special Agents and charged with interfering with flight crew membersand assault aboard an aircraft.
Investigators said she told them through a Russian interpreter that she had been traveling to New York to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday.
Instead, she spent approximately three weeks in custody in Bangor before being released on Oct. 1 and turned over to immigration authorities.
She was subsequently deported, and the prosecutor moved to dismiss the criminal charges.
“Further prosecution was not in the interests of justice,” Maine US Attorney Andrew B. Benson said, according to NJ.com.
The charges were dismissed without determination of guilt, bringing an abrupt end to the case.
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