Edmond Alexandre has been fined more than $ 7,000 after his fury over a reclined seat saw the plane he was on diverted . A passenger who forced a plane to divert after becoming furious with a woman in front of him who had reclined her seat has been fined more than $ 7,000 . Edmond Alexandre , 61 , became irate after a woman reclined the seat in front of him on the Miami-to-Paris flight in August last year . A U.S. District Court in Boston heard how the man began to argue with the woman and other passengers , before chasing a flight attendant down the aisle where he 'grabbed his arm ' . The federal judge decided to impose a a $ 1,000 ( £675 ) fine and restitution of $ 6,303 ( £4,300 ) to American Airlines . Alexandre , who is a Haitian national , was flying back to Paris , where he lives , when the plane was forced to divert to Logan Airport in Boston . Two undercover federal air marshals aboard the plane then subdued Alexandre and handcuffed him , the U.S. attorney 's office said . Massachusetts state police arrested Alexandre when the diverted plane landed . Four hours later the American Airlines flight resumed its journey onwards to France . U.S. media agencies report that Alexandre could have been facing 20 years in prison . The incident came just days after a United Airlines flight diverted to Chicago following a fight between two passengers over a reclined seat . United Flight 1462 from Newark , New Jersey to Denver was forced to make an emergency landing at O'Hare International Airport Sunday after a female passenger threw water at a man seated behind her who used a device known as Knee Defender to stop her from reclining her seat on the four-hour flight . The two passengers , both age 48 , were interviewed by Chicago police , who deemed the incident a 'customer service issue , ' according to Transportation Security Administration spokesman Ross Feinstein . Edmond Alexandre 's anger saw him force an American Airlines plane to make an unscheduled landing . The plane then continued to Denver without them , arriving 1 hour and 38 minutes late , according to the airline 's website . The Federal Aviation Administration can impose a civil fine of up to $ 25,000 for passengers who are unruly . In this case , no arrest was made , according to airport spokesman Gregg Cunningham . And then just days after the incident involving Mr Alexandre , a row between two women over a reclined seat led to the diversion of a New York to Palm Beach Delta flight to Jacksonville . According to the airline , the diversion was 'due to safety reasons in regard to a passenger issue ' but Florida television station WPTV reported that the plane rerouted due to a dispute over a reclining seat . A man used a 'seat defender ' on board one flight last year that prompted the woman in front to throw water over him - and that flight was also diverted ( devices circled ) Passenger Aaron Klipin told the station a woman sitting next to him got into an argument with a passenger behind her . The woman reclined her seat so she could knit while the other passenger was trying to sleep on the tray table . Klipin said the woman who was trying to take a nap started screaming and swearing , drawing the attention of the flight crew . According to the passenger , when a flight attendant came over , the dispute between the two women became even more heated , and the woman with her head on the tray table demanded that the plane be diverted . The stewardess went to talk to the pilot , who made the decision to land the plane 'out of an abundance of caution , ' according to a Delta spokesman . A few minutes later , the flight touched down in Jacksonville , where it was met by local law enforcement officials who removed the unruly woman from the plane . The three incidents in the space of some nine days on U.S. airlines became known as legroom wars .
Edmond Alexandre argued with a woman in front who had reclined seat . Led to the 61-year-old Haitian arguing with other passengers and staff . Said to have chased flight attendant down the aisle and grabbed arm .