One of the biggest stories of the weekend, about a man who allegedly slapped a 2-year-old on a flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta and called the child a racial slur, unfortunately has a plastics angle.
The suspect, Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, of Hayden, Idaho, was an executive with the composites manufacturing arm of AGC Aerospace and Defense, Composites Group, according to news reports.
Hundley was president of Unitech Composites in Hayden, which has an 80,000 square foot plant that serves the aerospace industry.
Yesterday AGC Aerospace posted a statement on its website that, while not specifically naming Hundley, disclosed that he is no longer employed by the company:
"Reports of the recent behavior of one of our business unit executives while on personal travel are offensive and disturbing. We have taken this matter very seriously and worked diligently to examine it since learning of the matter on Friday afternoon. As of Sunday, the executive is no longer employed with the company."
"We wish to emphasize that the behavior that has been described is contradictory to our values, embarrassing and does not in any way reflect the patriotic character of the men and women of diverse backgrounds who work tirelessly in our business."
For any readers who missed the details of the incident, here's a version from the Associated Press: "Man charged with slapping toddler now out of a job."