Man accused of slapping toddler on plane will go to court early

ATLANTA (AP) A man accused of slapping a crying toddler on a plane is scheduled to enter a plea.

Joe Rickey Hundley faces a misdemeanor simple assault charge in the February incident. A plea hearing has been set for Wednesday afternoon. His trial had been set to begin Thursday in federal court in Atlanta.

Authorities say Hundley used a racial slur to refer to the 19-month-old boy and then hit him under the right eye as the flight from Minneapolis began its descent to the Atlanta airport.

Hundley's lawyers said in court filings that his son was in a coma in Atlanta, and he was flying there to decide whether to take him off life support.

Hundley lived in Idaho at the time but has since moved to North Carolina.