Cho became angry when she was served macadamia nuts in a bag, instead of on a dish.
The former Korean Air executive who threw a member of cabin crew off a flight in a fit of “nut rage” has been charged with violating aviation security law
Cho Hyun-ah, who is the daughter of Korean Air's chairman, faces four charges of forcing a flight to change its normal route, the use of violence against flight crew, hindering a government probe and forcing the flight's purser off the plane.
Cho became angry when she was served macadamia nuts in a bag, instead of on a dish.
The Korean Air plane, which was taxiing down the runway for a flight from New York to Seoul, had to return to the gate at John F Kennedy airport so that the flight attendant could be ejected.
It was later reported that Cho had made the order because she thought that serving nuts in a packet was not in keeping with standards in first class cabins, in which she had been travelling.
Cho's actions amounted to "threatening the safety of the flight and causing confusion in law and order," a prosecutor Kim said during a briefing that was broadcast live by local television networks.
Cho's father has removed his daughter from all her roles at the airline and its affiliates.
A separate probe is looking at the role Korea’s transport ministry played in hindering the official investigation into the “nut rage” incident.