A Maryland man who reportedly punched a gate agent at Dulles International Airport is scheduled to make his first federal court appearance later this week.
Accused of striking an employee of United Airlines “in the face with a closed fist,” Christopher Stuart Crittenden will appear in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Thursday (April 17), according to court records.
The “likely inebriated” man became irate after his March 13 flight was delayed by 55 minutes, leading him to deliver a blow to the gate agent’s jaw, an FBI special agent said in an affidavit.
TMZ reported that the delay was the third travel issue that Crittenden had faced that day after his first flight got canceled and his second flight reached full occupancy.
According to court documents, the 53-year-old traveler began to shout expletives and use profanity after the delay’s announcement, rebuffing requests from staff to refrain from using vulgar language.
“The victim apologized for the delay and gave Crittenden his boarding pass,” the affidavit said. “Crittenden nevertheless continued to shout at the victim and other United staff about how the delay was ‘f-cked up.'”
With Crittenden continuing to ignore airline staff, the gate agent escalated the disturbance to the plane’s captain, who barred him from the flight.
Video shared on social media showed a man identified as Crittenden appearing to approach the jet bridge leading to the plane and being cut off by the gate agent. He then stated “I’m done with this bullsh-t” before punching the worker in the jaw.
United Airlines passenger punches a gate attendant at Washington Dulles International Airport when his flight was allegedly canceled and another fully booked.
Maryland resident Christopher Stuart Crittenden, 54, attempted to walk onto the jet bridge at Gate D12 inside the… pic.twitter.com/v5i6pxEDw2
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) March 15, 2025
The victim lost consciousness, falling to the floor. Crittenden attempted to punch another gate agent but was restrained by fellow passengers until police arrived, according to the affidavit.
“As a United Airlines gate agent, the victim is an air carrier employee who has security duties within the airport … by punching the victim, Crittenden both interfered with the performance of the victim’s security duties and lessened the victim’s ability to perform said duties,” the affidavit said.
Crittenden has been charged with interfering with security screening personnel, a federal felony that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars. He has also been banned by United Airlines, WUSA9 reported.
