60-year-old passenger on a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta has been charged with assault after he allegedly slapped a crying baby on the plane.

Joe Rickey Hundley of Hayden, Idaho was sitting next to the baby and his mother, Jessica Bennett, when Bennett's 19-month-old son began crying from the change in cabin pressure as the plane descended, according to an FBI affidavit.

Hundley's assault left a scratch under the toddler's right eye. Ms. Bennett stated Hundley told her, "shut that (N'word') baby up" and slapped the defenseless baby with an open hand causing the child to scream even louder.

FBI special agent Daron Cheney said, "Ms. Bennett received assistance from several people on the plane, including male passenger Todd Wooten." Wooten told the agent he heard derogatory language and went to investigate and he witnessed Bennett's child being slapped.

Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant stated flight attendants separated the passengers after the incident and that the crew arranged for law enforcement to meet the flight when it landed.

Surprisingly Hundley was not taken into custody but charged with assault.

"We think that it is important to let the case develop, and we'll see how it all comes out," Hundley's attorney Marcia Shein said Friday.