Airline Passengers Charged with Interfering with Flight Crew and Assaulting Passengers Published: 24 July 2021 24 July 2021 Phoenix, Arizona - Kelly Pichardo, 31, of Bronx, New York, appeared virtually Wednesday in federal court on charges that she interfered with a flight crew member and committed simple assault. Leeza S. Rodriguez, 30, also of Bronx, New York is scheduled to appear next week on the same charges. Pichardo and Rodriguez were previously indicted by a grand jury on three counts related to events that took place in February 2021. The indictment alleges that on February 24, Pichardo and Rodriguez, while on board an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Los Angeles, interfered with the ability of the flight crew to perform their duties by assaulting a crew member. The indictment also alleges that Pichardo and Rodriguez each assaulted a passenger during the flight. Pichardo’s and Rodriguez’s actions compelled the flight crew to conduct an unscheduled landing in Phoenix, Arizona.