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Russian passenger who attacked crew in midair meltdown learns fate

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Cite

Erickson, J. (2026, October 17). Russian passenger who attacked crew in midair meltdown learns fate. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/17/world-news/russian-passenger-accused-of-biting-flight-attendant-deported-from-us-charges-dropped/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-17 · by Jeanne Erickson

Quick Summary

Kristina Kedysheva, a 37-year-old Russian woman who allegedly attacked United Airlines flight attendants during a transatlantic flight from Milan to Newark in October, has been deported and all criminal charges against her dropped by federal prosecutors in Maine. Kedysheva faced up to 21 years in prison for interfering with the flight crew and assault aboard an aircraft but was removed by US immigration authorities after approximately three weeks in custody. The incident caused the plane to make an unscheduled landing in Bangor, Maine, where she was arrested; she bit a flight attendant’s wrist and kicked another in the stomach before being restrained.
Written by AI on 2026-10-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kristina Kedysheva, a 37-year-old Russian woman, was deported from the United States after being accused of disrupting a United Airlines flight from Milan, Italy to Newark, NJ. The incident occurred when Kedysheva became unruly and aggressive about four hours into the flight, demanding more alcohol despite already having consumed several drinks. She bit and kicked flight attendants and had to be restrained by crew members and passengers until the plane landed in Bangor International Airport. The flight, which carried 274 passengers and 13 crew members, was diverted due to her disruptive behavior. Although Kedysheva faced federal charges that could have led to up to 21 years in prison for interfering with a flight crew and assault aboard an aircraft, all criminal charges were dropped after she was deported by US immigration authorities. Assistant US Attorney Andrew McCormack confirmed the dismissal of the case due to her removal from the country.

Written for “Russian Passenger Sentenced” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Russian Passenger Sentenced
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
41%
7 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16794 article(s) · 36 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 36 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jeanne Erickson
26 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Also by Jeanne Erickson
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 26 articles by Jeanne Erickson →

Topics

Bangor FBI Maine Russian United Airlines

Subjects

Kedysheva PERSON · 4× Maine GPE · 3× Russian NORP · 3× Bangor GPE · 2× FBI ORG · 2× Andrew McCormack PERSON · 1× Kristina Kedysheva PERSON · 1× United Airlines ORG · 1× the Asbury Park Press ORG · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

Crew members and passengers — including a couple from Toms River, NJ — helped overpower the unruly traveler and kept her restrained until the aircraft landed. Flight 18 had 274 passengers and 13 crew members aboard when it diverted to Bangor International Airport, where Kedysheva was removed from the plane.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-17
2026-10-17 · New York Post
Russian passenger who attacked crew in midair meltdown learns fate · mixed framing

Claims (17 extracted, 7 hedged)

A Russian woman accused of biting and kicking United Airlines flight attendants during a booze-fueled midair meltdown has had all criminal charges against her dropped — because US immigration authorities deported her, according to reports. uncertain
authorities → accuse → reports
Kristina Kedysheva, 37, faced a maximum of 21 years behind bars on federal charges of interfering with a flight crew and assault aboard an aircraft. asserted
Kedysheva → face → aircraft
But federal prosecutors in Maine have now abandoned the case after the Russian national was removed from the United States. asserted
national → abandon → States
“She wasn’t prosecuted, she was removed by immigration authorities,” said Assistant US Attorney Andrew McCormack, according to the Asbury Park Press. uncertain
McCormack → prosecute → Press
The dismissal came despite allegations that Kedysheva caused chaos aboard the transatlantic flight from Milan, Italy to Newark, NJ, forcing pilots to make an unscheduled landing in Bangor, Maine, according to an FBI court document. uncertain
Kedysheva → come → document
The trouble began about four hours into the flight when Kedysheva repeatedly demanded more alcohol after already consuming several drinks. asserted
Kedysheva → begin → drinks
She ignored instructions to return to her seat, began filming crew members with her phone and calling them “racist” as they tried to restrain her. asserted
they → ignore → her
She had to be held down by five people to stop her from trying to open a door midair — and then bit and kicked a flight attendant who refused to serve her more booze, according to court documents. uncertain
who → have → documents
During the struggle, Kedysheva allegedly sank her teeth into one flight attendant’s wrist before kicking the same crew member in the stomach. uncertain
Kedysheva → sink → stomach
The flight attendant suffered a shoulder injury requiring medical attention, according to the court documents. uncertain
attendant → suffer → documents
Crew members and passengers — including a couple from Toms River, NJ — helped overpower the unruly traveler and kept her restrained until the aircraft landed. Flight 18 had 274 passengers and 13 crew members aboard when it diverted to Bangor International Airport, where Kedysheva was removed from the plane. asserted
Kedysheva → include → plane
At the airport, she was met by local police, US Customs and Border Protection officers and FBI Special Agents and charged with interfering with flight crew members and assault aboard an aircraft. asserted
she → meet → aircraft
Investigators said she told them through a Russian interpreter that she had been traveling to New York to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday. asserted
she → say → birthday
Instead, she spent approximately three weeks in custody in Bangor before being released on Oct. 1 and turned over to immigration authorities. asserted
she → spend → authorities
She was subsequently deported, and the prosecutor moved to dismiss the criminal charges. asserted
prosecutor → deport → charges
“Further prosecution was not in the interests of justice,” Maine US Attorney Andrew B. Benson said, according to NJ.com. uncertain
Benson → say → NJ.com
The charges were dismissed without determination of guilt, bringing an abrupt end to the case. asserted
charges → dismiss → case
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