N.Y. woman accused of hitting flight attendant

A New York woman has been accused of punching a JetBlue Airways Corp. flight attendant who tried to stop her from smoking a cigarette onboard.

Thirty-five-year-old Queens resident Christina Elizabeth Szele was advised Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Colorado of charges of assault and interference with flight attendants. She didn't enter a plea.

An FBI affidavit said Szele yelled obscenities and racial epithets at an attendant who tried to stop her from smoking on Flight 643 from New York to San Francisco on Tuesday.

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Szele is accused of breaking through flex cuffs that flight attendants used to restrain her and punching an attendant in the jaw. The captain diverted the flight to Denver.

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Authorities said Szele claimed she had been drinking and doesn't remember the incident.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday.