A 54-year-old man who admitted to punching a gate agent at Dulles Airport earlier this year will spend two months in federal prison.
Yesterday (Thursday), U.S. District Court Judge Michael Nachmanoff also ordered Christopher Stuart Crittenden to pay $15,000 in restitution and a $5,000 fine as part of his sentence.
Crittenden, a Maryland resident, pleaded guilty in July to one count of interfering with security screening personnel. A plea agreement capped his potential period of incarceration at 10 years.
On March 13, the “likely inebriated” Crittenden became irate after his flight was delayed by 55 minutes, leading him to strike the United Airlines employee, according to court records.
“The victim apologized for the delay and gave Crittenden his boarding pass,” an affidavit said. “Crittenden nevertheless continued to shout at the victim and other United staff about how the delay was ‘f-cked up.’”
After a gate agent attempted to direct Crittenden away from a group of deplaning passengers, he struck the gate agent in the jaw, rendering him temporarily unconscious, court records said.
“I stepped in front of him, advising that he could not be in that area due to the arriving passengers,” the victim wrote in a statement. “At that moment, with the PA still in my hand, he punched me. That is the last thing I remember until regaining consciousness.”
Video of the incident was shared on social media.
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 suffered “contusions, bleeding, and significant pain in his head and shoulder areas” and requires “follow-up dental care” due to the incident, a statement of facts said. Though he did not sustain any broken bones, he did miss multiple days of work.
In addition to his court-ordered penalties, Crittenden has been banned from United Airlines.
