This is a photo of the Juneau International Airport in April 2023. A Montana man pleaded guilty last Wednesday to assaulting a flight crew member while aboard a flight from Sitka to Juneau in early April. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

This is a photo of the Juneau International Airport in April 2023. A Montana man pleaded guilty last Wednesday to assaulting a flight crew member while aboard a flight from Sitka to Juneau in early April. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)

Man pleads guilty to assault of crew member while on flight to Juneau

The assault occurred on April 1, according to court documents.

A Montana man pleaded guilty last Wednesday to assaulting a flight crew member while aboard a flight from Sitka to Juneau in early April.

Eric Richard Bruns, 42, was sentenced on Friday to time served for Information charging Assault in the Special Aircraft Jurisdiction of the United States, according to information released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bruns was arrested on April 1 after he began acting erratically and refused instruction to remain seated while on an Alaska Airlines flight that was on approach to the Juneau International Airport, according to the DOJ.

Bruns was reported to have verbally threatened to assault a flight crew member after the crew member stopped him from moving toward the front of the aircraft after he ignored instructions to remain seated as the flight descended.

According to the DOJ Bruns attempted to shove his way past the flight crew member and struck the crew member with his hands.

Two federal law enforcement officers and another passenger assisted the crew member and physically restrained Bruns in an unoccupied seat until the plane landed and arrived at the gate.

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.

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