Reuters:  “U.S. prosecutors in Colorado on Monday charged a 20-year-old California man with assaulting a flight attendant on an Oct. 27 American Airlines flight that forced its diversion.  The New York to Santa Ana, California, flight made an unscheduled landing in Denver after the alleged assault in which witnesses said a flight attendant was punched in the nose, resulting in bleeding and a concussion.

“Brian Hsu, of Irvine, California, who is also charged with interference with a flight crew, was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Autumn Spaeth after making an initial appearance in a U.S. district court in Santa Ana on Monday.  Spaeth ordered him to appear in Denver on Nov. 15 for a hearing and directed him to submit to a mental health evaluation.

“A lawyer for Hsu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.  U.S. airlines have reported a record number of violent incidents this year and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has pledged a ‘zero tolerance’ approach.  American Airlines Chief Executive Doug Parker said in a video posted on Instagram last week ‘this type of behavior has to stop,’ calling the incident ‘one of the worst displays of unruly behavior we’ve ever witnessed.’

“An FBI agent said in an affidavit a witness reported Hsu punched the flight attendant in the face near the lavatory.  The flight attendant felt dizzy after the flight and was removed by stretcher. She was taken to the hospital where doctors told her that she had a concussion and she told the FBI she ‘currently has pain in her nose, head, and sinuses.’

“Hsu told the FBI he was returning home to California from New York after receiving brain surgery in Rhode Island.  Hsu said he accidentally bumped a flight attendant and claimed the flight attendant then ‘charged at him and hit her nose against the palm of his right hand.'”