Former Miss Venezuela 'drunkenly assaulted a male flight attendant onboard international flight and forced pilot to turn around and land in Houston'



Carmen Lechin was 20 when she won the Miss Venezuela title in 1984, going on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, where she placed second runner-up

Now 48, she stands accused of getting drunk on a flight from Houston to Bogota and assaulting a male flight attendant



Her behavior was so disruptive the pilot determined he could not continue the trip and turned the plane around

Lechin was still on probation at the time following a domestic incident in 2011, which culminated in a police chase

Bygone beauty queen Carmen Lechin is set for a federal court trial later this month after allegedly being intoxicated on an international flight and assaulting a male flight attendant, forcing the pilot to turn the plane around.

The 48-year-old former Miss Venezuela was indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston on charges of interfering with a flight crew attendent, stemming from an incident on a United flight from Houston to Bogota on June 6, according to Vail Daily.

Lechin - who was on probation at the time from previous charges of eluding a police officer, harassment, driving under the influence and domestic violence - is accused of kicking and screaming so much during the flight the crew determined her too volatile to complete the trip.

Carmen Lechin, a former Miss Venezuela beauty queen, faces federal charges after she allegedly got drunk on an international flight, assaulted a male flight attendant and the crew had to turn the plane around and go home

Flashback: In 1984, Carmen Lechin won the Miss Venezuela title and went on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant of that year, placing second runner-up. She is now facing federal charges

Carmen Lechin, who will face a federal court on January 27 for causing a disturbance on an international flight, is seen here during the swimsuit competition of the Miss Universe 1984 pageant in Miami

According to the federal indictment, Lechin 'knowingly and unlawfully intimidated flight attendant Samuel Oliver by creating a disturbance in flight through her abusive language, assaultive behavior and her refusal to comply with directions, instructions and warnings'.

She was allegedly intoxicated at the time and FBI agents were called out to meet the plane as it touched back down in Houston.

The next day, June 7, Lechin’s Texas probation officer filed a complaint alleging she had violated her probation, citing the federal charges and her drinking.

Terms of Lechin’s probation prohibited her using alcohol and drugs and stipulated she have no new violations of law.

Her trial is set for January 27 in Houston.

Once it is complete, Lechin - who was runner up at the Miss Universe pageant in 1984 - will be forced to face her probation violations.

She was sentenced to two years probation after an incident on Christmas Eve 2011 in Eagle County, Colorado, where she lived before moving to Houston.

Old footage shows Carmen Lechin winning the Miss Venezuela crown in 1984. Lechin, now 48, has been charged with a string of crimes, most of them alcohol-fueled

According to Vail Daily, Eagle County sheriff’s deputies were summoned to a Beaver Creek condo by Carmen Lechin’s husband, Alex, who said she smacked him in the head.

She was already free on bond for a similar incident on Thanksgiving 2011, and her Christmas Eve drinking ran counter to the conditions of her bond, the police report said.

She got into in a blue Hummer H3 while intoxicated and drove up Interstate 70.

Lechin then called her husband's cell phone while deputies were speaking to him.

Alex Lechin pleaded with his wife to return to the condo and speak to the sheriff's deputies, the report says.

When they got on the phone, Lechin screamed she was not stupid, 'because she knows that she is just going to jail if she stops,' she reportedly said.

The blue Hummer was then found driving on I-70.

When Lechin didn't respond to the lights and sirens, refusing to stop, a chase ensued.

Former Miss Venezuela Carmen Lechin - seen here in her 1984 heyday - faces federal charges after she allegedly got drunk on an international flight and caused a disturbance

Avon police, Vail police and the Colorado State Patrol became involved.

They stretched a spike trip along the highway and blew out Lechin's two front tires, but she kept driving.

Police say when a State Trooper pulled up beside her she might have tried to run into the trooper's car.

Lechin finally stopped and was arrested.

She was charged with assault, causing an injury and domestic violence.

Carmen Lechin and her husband, Alex Eduardo Lechin, filed for divorce in Houston.

Lechin was 20-years-old when she won the Miss Venezuela title in 1984.

On July 9, 1984, she represented Venezuela in the Miss Universe pageant in Miami, where she finished as second runner-up.