Woman allegedly assaults Alaska Air flight crew, forcing landing in Boise

An Alaska Airlines flight was redirected to the Boise Airport early Tuesday morning after a lady on the flight allegedly assaulted crew members.

At about 1:30 a.m., the Boise Police Department Airport Division was notified that a flight was making an emergency landing because a passenger assaulted two airline workers, according to the Boise Police Department.

The 61-year-old lady, a Washington state resident, was “showing erratic behavior and struck two airline employees who were trying to calm her down,” police told the Idaho Statesman in an e mail.

Police say that when the flight landed, the 2 airline workers requested and signed affidavits for a citizen’s arrest. After an investigation, the girl was eliminated from the aircraft without incident and booked into the Ada County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor battery.

The flight was Alaska Air Flight 1057, which took off from the Portland International Airport and was headed to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, according to the airline.

The flight was delayed by about 90 minutes, Alaska Airlines said in a emailed assertion to the Idaho Statesman. The aircraft took back off from Boise at 3:43 a.m. and landed at DFW this morning, according to FlightConscious.

The lady has been banned from flying with Alaska Airlines, according to the airline’s assertion.

“At Alaska Airlines, safety is our number one priority, and we do not tolerate violence of any kind against our employees,” the e-mail acknowledged. “We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism, and we apologize for any concern or inconvenience this situation caused.”