NATIONAL BRIEFING / AND FINALLY . . .
A man who says he desperately needed to use an airplane bathroom faces a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew for twisting a flight attendant’s arm to get to the lavatory, the FBI said.
Joao Correa, 43, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he had a bathroom emergency 30 minutes into a Delta Air Lines flight from Honduras to Atlanta last month, but found the single coach aisle blocked by a beverage cart. He said he asked if he could use the lavatory in business class, but was told no.
Transportation Security Administration policy requires passengers on international flights to use the restroom in their seating class.
When the cart wasn’t moved after a few minutes, Correa said, he ran for the business-class lavatory. He said the flight attendant put up her arm to block him, and he grabbed it to keep his balance.
A Delta flight attendant said Correa grabbed her right arm, pulled it down and twisted it, according to authorities.
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