Less than a minute after an American Airlines flight departed from Savannah, Georgia, for Miami on Monday night, chaos erupted as a passenger began “stomping, yelling and shaking,” before attacking two flight attendants and aggressively striking the seat in front of him.
Believing a demonic spirit had boarded the plane, the passenger struggled to regain control and, in a bizarre attempt to ward it off began swallowing rosary beads mid-flight. The passenger, identified as 31-year-old Delange Augustin, was travelling with his sister Medjina Augustin.
According to an FBI affidavit filed on Tuesday in US District Court, Augustin had instructed his sister to “close her eyes and pray because Satan’s disciple(s) had followed them onto the plane.”
The Envoy Air-operated flight, carrying eight passengers, saw no serious injuries, while Augustin faces multiple charges, including misdemeanor battery, obstruction of police and felony criminal property damage.
FBI Agent Savannah Solomon described the incident, stating that flight attendants initially suspected the passenger was experiencing an epileptic episode shortly after takeoff.
As the crew observed his erratic behavior—including “stomping, incoherent yelling, and shaking” concern grew. When a flight attendant approached to check on him, the passenger suddenly turned and forcefully kicked the attendant in the chest, propelling them into a window across the aisle.
The passenger then began aggressively kicking and punching the seat in front of him, causing the occupant to move just before the seatback gave way.
Upon landing back in Savannah, the passenger attempted to rush toward the exit, attacking another flight attendant in the process. He was ultimately restrained by fellow passengers, according to the affidavit.
Airport police arrested him, and he was taken to a hospital for “ingestion of rosary beads,” before being transferred to Chatham County jail the affidavit added.
Court and jail records show no listed legal representation for Augustin. His sister informed the FBI they were en route to Haiti “to flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature.”
She explained that her brother had “swallowed the rosary beads because they are a weapon of strength in spiritual warfare,” adding that he was “not suffering from any medical or mental health issue or impairment.”
She further mentioned that “evil comes out in the darkness,” and expressed that she “had never experienced as much darkness as was on the plane that evening.” She additionally stated, as documented in the filing, that “[s]he was not surprised” about her brother “had hurt anyone because he hurts evil.”