Dec 28, 2007 9:33 pm US/Central
Florida Hockey Player Accused Of Assault On Plane
Reporting
Jack Fink
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A hockey player has been arrested after being accused of assaulting a flight attendant, exposing himself and head-butting a passenger on an American Airlines flight into DFW Airport. He is now facing federal charges.
An FBI agent greeted the plane at the international terminal on Thursday night and took the minor league player into custody.
According to court records, the pilot declared an on-board emergency when the flight attendants had difficulty restraining the player.
David Cornacchia, the arrested hockey player, was soft-spoken on Friday afternoon as he left the federal courthouse in Dallas. It was a stark contrast to the behavior he has now been accused of exhibiting on the flight Thursday night
CBS 11 News tried to talk to Cornacchia. His only comment was: "Take care. Have a good day."
Cornacchia is a defensive player with the Florida Everblades, a minor league team in Fort Myers, Florida.
He was aboard American Airlines Flight 1203 from Toronto on Thursday night on his way to meet his team for Friday night's game in Mississippi.
Court documents obtained by CBS 11 News show, after two alcoholic beverages during the flight, Cornacchia became violent when flight attendants refused to serve him a third drink because he was "stumbling, unstable, and had slurred speech."
While the flight crew and two doctors were trying to treat a passenger who became unconscious, Cornacchia is accused of "slapping a male flight attendant in the face with his open hand."
Court papers also say that Cornacchia was "belligerent toward the flight attendants, intimidating them, directing obscene language toward them and exposing [himself] to neaby passengers."
An off-duty pilot, flying as a passenger, tried to help flight attendants in restraining the 200 pound hockey player. Court documents show that Cornacchia "intentionally head-butted" the pilot.
According to the FBI, that off-duty pilot and the flight attendants kept watch over the player during the remainder of the flight, preventing them from performing their normal duties.
There has been no word yet on when Cornacchia will return to court.
In court, Judge Jeff Kaplan said that it seemed as if Cornacchia has an alcohol problem, and then suggested he be ordered to seek counseling.
A spokesman for the Florida Everblades declined to comment, but did say that Cornacchia has not been suspended.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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