Flight attendant found not guilty in attacks on crew

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – An American Airlines flight attendant accused last year of attacking crew members and air marshals during a trans-Atlantic flight has been found not guilty by reason of insanity by a federal judge.

The Charlotte Observer reports (http://bit.ly/2bpuj2t) that Joanne Snow had faced charges of interference with flight crews and attendants, and with assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer or employee of the United States.

This week, federal prosecutors reduced the charges to simple assault. In a Charlotte courtroom on Friday, both sides stipulated that the 67-year-old Snow had reacted badly to some prescription drugs taken before the flight, had been treated by a psychiatrist and was no longer a threat to the public.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer agreed, and accepted the not-guilty plea recommended by attorneys.