Man Who 'Slapped Toddler' On Jet Out Of A Job

A man charged with slapping a toddler during a flight is out of a job.

Joe Hundley, 60, was charged with assault last week after he was accused of slapping a 19-month-old boy and using a racial slur during the flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis.

Hundley, of Hayden, Idaho, is no longer an employee of AGC Aerospace and Defense, Composites Group, a spokesman said.

The boy's mother, Jessica Bennett, said the family had a lot of questions about how Hundley could get so out of control on the February 8 flight.

She said Hundley, who was sitting next to her on the Delta flight, became increasingly obnoxious. 

"He reeked of alcohol," Ms Bennett told TV station KARE 11.

"He was belligerent and I was uncomfortable."

She alleges that Hundley slapped her son near his eye after he started crying as the plane descended.

"I could not believe he would say (the racial slur) and then hit him," she said.

"I felt like I was in another world. I was shaking."

Al Haase, president and CEO of AGC, released a statement that did not refer to Hundley by name but called reports of an executive's behaviour "offensive and disturbing" and said he "is no longer employed with the company".

His lawyer Marcia Shein has said he will plead not guilty.