Flight Attendants Report Mid-Flight Assault

A passenger was arrested after she was accused of assaulting two flight attendants aboard an Alaska Airlines flight, prompting an unscheduled landing in Boise. Authorities said Tracy Barkhimer, 61, of Washington state, was on Flight 1057 from Portland to Dallas late Tuesday night when she began acting erratically and struck the crew members who tried to calm her, according to police. Flight records show the plane was diverted about an hour after takeoff from Portland, touching down in Idaho at roughly 1:30am, USA Today reports.

Boise police said Barkhimer was restrained until the plane landed, at which point officers and medics met the aircraft. The flight attendants signed affidavits for a citizen's arrest. Barkhimer was booked into the Ada County Jail on two counts of misdemeanor battery. She has since posted a $600 bond and is due in court in early November. Alaska Airlines said that the crew was medically cleared and that the flight continued to Dallas about 90 minutes after the diversion. As of late September, per USA Today, the Federal Aviation Administration had logged 1,205 reports of unruly passengers in 2025, with fines for such behavior reaching up to $43,658 per violation.