'Nut rage' former Korean Air executive arrested

Prosecutors have not yet brought charges against Cho Hyun-ah, 40, whose outburst on December 5 caused a Korean Air plane to return to its gate at New York's John F. Kennedy airport after it had pushed back to head for the runway.

The plane returned to the gate to allow the flight's chief steward to disembark, after Cho had demanded that he be removed due to the fact that she was served macadamia nuts in a bag rather than a dish.

The arrest came after an investigation conducted by South Korea's transportation ministry found evidence that not only had Cho abused the airline's staff, but that officials had also sought to cover up the incident.

"The necessity for detention is recognized as the case is grave and there has been an attempt to systematically cover up charges from the beginning," Lee Kwang-woo, a judge at the Seoul Western District Court told the Reuters news agency in a text message.

Cho was placed in a Seoul detention facility shortly after a court approved her detention late on Tuesday. Prosecutors now have 20 days to bring formal charges against her.

'Threats and assault'

The prosecutors' office said Cho could face a number of charges, including committing in-flight violence and changing a planned flight route.

Local media quoted a passenger from the flight who said that the suspect, also known as Heather Cho, had threatened and assaulted members of the crew. The chief steward who disembarked from the plane prior to take-off, Park Chang-jin, told the South Korean broadcaster KBS that she had forced him to kneel in front of her and had poked the back of his hand with the corner of a flight manual book several times.

With her head bowed, Cho, the daughter of the chairman of Korean Air and former head of in-flight service, said "sorry" several times as she was taken into custody by prosecution officials.Cho has since resigned from the post.

pfd/tj (Reuters, AP)