News Release
Continental Airlines Applauds Indictment of Man who Assaulted Gate Agent
NEWARK, November 10, 1999 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL and CAL.A) applauds the criminal indictment handed down today by the Office of the Prosecutor of Essex County, New Jersey. John C. Davis, of Virginia, was indicted for second degree aggravated assault in conjunction with a violent attack on a Continental Airlines gate agent, Angelo Sottile.
Sottile suffered a broken neck as a result of the assault and now has 60% permanent reduced mobility in his neck. From his home where he is still recuperating, Sottile said he is relieved. If convicted, Davis faces up to 10 years in prison.
The assault took place on the evening of July 22 at Newark International Airport. Sottile, a gate agent for the airline, was checking in passengers for a flight to Orlando, Florida. Davis and members of his family were booked as passengers on that flight to Orlando. The flight was delayed due to severe thunderstorms in the area.
During the boarding process, Davis aggressively attempted to enter the jetway to the aircraft without a boarding pass. Sottile, obeying Federal Aviation Regulations, asked Davis to stop so he could check his boarding pass. Davis responded by grabbing Sottile in a bear hug, tossing him upside down and pummeling his head into the floor, resulting in several fractures of his neck.
Davis failed to offer Sottile any assistance and walked away from him as he lay bleeding and severely injured.
Continental Airlines Chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune said of the attack, "No airline customer, employee, airport worker or flight crew should ever have to face the kind of violence that was leveled against our gate agent, Angelo Sottile."
The next step is arraignment in which Mr. Davis must enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If the plea is not guilty, a trial date will be set.