Many people get irritated by screaming children on planes, but one man took it to a whole new level – by slapping a crying toddler.
Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, allegedly demanded that the mother of the crying toddler 'shut that n****r baby up' before slapping the infant in the face.
Now Hundley has been charged with simple assault after the incident with Jessica Bennett, 33, and her 19-month-old son Jonah. He has also lost his job with an aerospace company as a result.
Jessica, who was travelling on the Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta in the U.S for a family funeral, told authorities that her son 'started to cry due to the altitude change' as the plane prepared for landing. The mum she was unable to stop the infant crying.
A report compiled by FBI Agent Daron Cheney alleges that Hundley turned to the mother and used the racial slur in telling her to shut up the child. It is reported that Hundley then 'turned around and slapped' the toddler in the face 'with an open hand, which caused the juvenile victim to scream even louder'.
According to the mother, the slap 'caused a scratch below [the child's] right eye.'
Hundley was charged with simple assault in federal court in Atlanta this week. If convicted the man faces a maximum of one year in prison.
Hundley, who was the president of an aircraft parts manufacturer based in Idaho, denied slapping the child or using racial language.
He claims that he did 'ask the mother to quiet the child'. He said he was travelling to Atlanta to visit a hospitalised relative, described his emotional state as 'distraught' and that he had one alcoholic drink on the aircraft.