Criminal charges against a Russian woman accused of biting and kicking United Airlines flight attendants during an alcohol-fueled disturbance in the air have been dropped after US immigration authorities deported her, according to reports.
Kristina Kedysheva, 37, had faced federal charges of interfering with a flight crew and assaulting people aboard an aircraft. She could have received up to 21 years in prison if convicted.
Federal prosecutors in Maine have since abandoned the case because Kedysheva, a Russian national, was removed from the United States.
“She wasn’t prosecuted, she was removed by immigration authorities,” Assistant US Attorney Andrew McCormack said, according to the Asbury Park Press.
“On September 29, ICE deported Kristina Kedysheva, a citizen of Russia … she was removed to Italy, her point of origin, consistent with applicable law, policy, and established procedures,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesman told The Post.
Kedysheva now lives in Gessate, Italy.
The decision to dismiss the charges came after allegations that Kedysheva caused a disturbance aboard a transatlantic flight from Milan to Newark, New Jersey. The disruption forced the pilots to divert the aircraft to Bangor, Maine, an FBI court document said.
According to the document, the incident began about four hours into the flight, when Kedysheva repeatedly asked for more alcohol after already having several drinks.
Flight attendants refused to serve her, and prosecutors said she became increasingly confrontational.
She allegedly refused to return to her seat, recorded crew members on her phone and called them “racist” as they attempted to restrain her.
Court documents say five people had to hold her down after she tried to open an aircraft door during the flight. She allegedly then bit and kicked a flight attendant who would not give her more alcohol.
During the confrontation, Kedysheva allegedly bit the flight attendant’s wrist and kicked the same crew member in the stomach.
The flight attendant sustained a shoulder injury and required medical treatment, according to court records.
Crew members and passengers, including a couple from Toms River, New Jersey, helped subdue Kedysheva and kept her restrained until the plane landed.
United Flight 18 was carrying 274 passengers and 13 crew members when it diverted to Bangor International Airport. Kedysheva was taken off the aircraft there.
Local police, US Customs and Border Protection officers and FBI special agents met her at the airport. She was charged with interfering with flight crew members and assault aboard an aircraft.
Through a Russian interpreter, Kedysheva told investigators she had been traveling to New York to attend a friend’s 40th birthday celebration.
She instead spent about three weeks in custody in Bangor before being released on September 29 and transferred to immigration authorities.
Kedysheva was later deported, prompting the prosecutor to ask that the criminal case be dismissed.
“Further prosecution was not in the interests of justice,” Maine US Attorney Andrew B. Benson said, according to NJ.com.
The charges were dismissed without determination of guilt, bringing an abrupt end to the case.
