A Case of Air Rage in the Courts

N E W A R K,  N.J., March -- It was supposed to be the start of a family vacation, but it all went sour when dad lost his temper.

John Davis, , 29, of Fredericksburg, Va., is now on trial for allegedly injuring Continental Airlines ticket agent Angelo Sottile in a dispute at Newark Airport nearly two years ago.

Davis and 10 members of his were on their way to Walt Disney World in Orlando when their flight was delayed several hours. Witnesses say Davis grew angry and eventually tangled with Sottile.

The agent ended up with a broken neck and spent five days in a coma. Davis was charged with aggravated assault and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years if convicted.

Mixed Messages

"This is not a trial about air rage," prosecutor Leslie Mann told jurors in his opening statement Monday. "You're not going to make a decision and send a message; that's not what the case is about, that's not your function. We don't send messages."

No one disputes the fact of Sottile's injury or where it occured, but the parties do disagree about what provoked the dispute and who first attacked whom.

The prosecutor says an enraged Davis picked a fight.

The defense hopes to convince the jury that a surly Sottile started the whole thing by getting physical with Davis's wife who was merely tending to their restless toddler.

"You have a right to defend yourself and let the chips fall where they may," said defense attorney Anthony Pope. Of the agent and his injuries, Pope said, "He brought it on himself."

Crowds and Confusion

Pope suggests that tensions at Terminal C's Gate 115 on July 22, 1999, had a direct bearing on events that led to Sottile's injury. He says 300 or 400 people were waiting for their flights at the terminal — some for flights that had been delayed since 8 a.m.

The fight between Sottile and Davis broke out at 10 p.m., after the Davis's daughter went running down the boarding ramp and his wife tried to run after her. Sottile prevented her from entering the passageway.

"He pushes her with both hands," argued Pope, "knocks her up against a door to stop her 3 not from blowing up a plane, but from getting her one and a half year old child who is two feet away from the door."

Pushing Turns to Pounding

Both sides agree the violence escalated quickly, though Sottile was in a coma for five days after the incident and says he can't remember what happened.

Witnesses for the prosecution say Davis picked up Sottile and slammed him on the floor.

One Continental gent, Ana Bautista, testified that it looked like Davis knew what he was doing during the fight, as if he had practiced the move.

The defense says Sottile overstepped his duty. But a witness, another gate attendant, testified it was Davis who let his anger get the best of him.

"I thought he was dead," she said. "I thought he had killed him."

The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

ABCNEWS' Don Dahler contributed to this report.