"He Had A Bad Night Last Night"

Was it a slap or a punch? Reports differ on what kind of blow Andrew Kowalczyk landed on a fellow passenger during a US Airways flight this week. There's no question, however, on what the stricken passenger does for a living: he's a federal air marshal.

(And that, my friends, is the definition of the word "oops." -- Ed.)

Jeffrey Boyer says he was seated in First Class on the Wednesday flight from Reagan National Airport to Fort Myers, FL. Boyer and fellow air marshal Brian Pierog were seated in front of Kowalczyk, who witnesses say appeared to be intoxicated.

Kowalczyk “spoke in a loud voice and repeatedly used profanity” with “slurred speech” according to a federal complaint filed by the two men.

The complaint states that sometime during the flight, Boyer “felt a sharp blow to the back of my head that knocked my head forward.”

Whether Kowalczyk hit Boyer with an open or closed fist is unclear. Either way, Boyer says he thought at first the hit was unintentional... until Pierog told him what Kowalcyzk had said to him.

The Southwest Florida News-Press reports Pierog told Boyer that Kowalczyk leaned over to him as he ordered a Jack and Coke, and said, “I don’t know who this guy in front of me thinks he is, but I’m going to whoop his ass."

That's when Kowalczyk was informed of who, exactly, Boyer thought he was.

Needless to say, Kowalczyk was arrested... and held until the flight landed at Southwest Florida International. He was then taken to the Lee County Jail.

Kowalczyk faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, on charges of interfering with flight crew personnel.

"He had a bad night last night," Boyer said of Kowalcyzk, according to the Associated Press.

FMI: www.tsa.gov/lawenforcement/people/index.shtm, www.usairways.com