Man who attacked Alaska Airlines flight attendant and sprayed blood on passengers after overdose avoids prison sentence

A man on board an Alaska Airlines flight suspected of drug overdose who then attacked a flight attendant and sprayed passengers and crew with blood as an off-duty nurse attempted to administer a life-saving dose of Narcan swerved to another prison. sentence after pleading guilty to assault.

Christian David Burch, 38, of Minnesota, pleaded guilty to interfering with flight crew members following the horrific mid-flight incident in June 2023, and he has been held in multiple prisons for violation of parole and parole conditions.

Burch had boarded Alaska Airlines Flight AS183 from Minneapolis to Anchorage on June 25, 2023, despite being prohibited from leaving the state of Minnesota as a condition of his parole.

During the five-hour flight to Alaska, Burch went to the bathroom, where he is suspected of overdosing on a powerful opioid such as Fentanyl. The flight attendants heard a scream coming from inside the lavatory and when Burch came out, drool and foam were coming from his mouth.

After walking randomly toward the first class section, Burch suddenly collapsed following a suspected medical emergency. An off-duty registered nurse went to help and requested Narcan from the onboard medical kit – a life-saving medication that can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Narcan is administered via a nasal spray, but as soon as the nurse inserted the spray into Burch's nurse, Burch began to violently resist and grabbed a flight attendant near his throat.

During the struggle, Narcan caused Burch's nose to bleed, and as he struggled, several crew members and passengers were sprayed with his blood as they helped hold him down.

When questioned by law enforcement, Burch denied taking opioids and said he experienced dizziness while in the bathroom. He was arrested after the plane landed and initially held in state custody for six days.

Returning to Minnesota, Burch was arrested again and held in jail for 72 days for a state parole violation. He was then arrested in March 2024 and held in federal prison for violating the conditions of his pretrial release.

Burch, however, escaped further prison time and was sentenced to five years of probation. The maximum sentence Burch received was 20 years in prison.

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