Man who attacked Alaska Airlines flight attendant and sprayed passengers with blood after overdose escapes prison sentence

A man on an Alaska Airlines flight suspected of a drug overdose attacked a flight attendant and sprayed blood on passengers and crew as an off-duty nurse tried to give him a life-saving dose of Narcan. He has avoided further prison time after pleading guilty to assault.

Christian David Burch, 38, of Minnesota, pleaded guilty to obstructing flight crew following the horrific in-flight incident in June 2023 and was held in several prisons for violating conditions of pretrial release and parole.

Burch 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 believed to have overdosed on a powerful opioid such as fentanyl. Flight attendants heard a scream coming from the bathroom, and when Burch came out, drool and foam were pouring from his mouth.

After walking aimlessly toward first class, Burch suddenly collapsed. It was believed to be a medical emergency. An off-duty nurse came to her aid and requested Narcan from the onboard pharmacy – a life-saving drug 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 nose, he began to struggle violently and grabbed a flight attendant by the neck.

During the struggle, the Narcan caused Burch to have a nosebleed, and as he thrashed around, several crew members and passengers who tried to restrain him were splattered with his blood.

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

Back in Minnesota, Burch was arrested again and detained for 72 days for violating the terms of his state parole. In March 2024, he was arrested again and detained in a federal prison for violating the terms of his pretrial release.

However, Burch avoided further prison time and was instead sentenced to five years probation. The maximum sentence Burch could not have served was 20 years in prison.

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