Fear of Flying

Don't expect to see the hardcore rap group Onyx flying the friendly skies any time soon. On Sept. 1 rapper Kirk Jones, a.k.a. Sticky Fingaz, allegedly assaulted a passenger on a New York-bound United Airlines flight while the plane was preparing to depart Chicago's O'Hare airport. Trouble started when Jones, 19, declined to remove his Walkman after a flight attendant informed him of regulations that bar the use of electronic devices during takeoff and landing to avoid interference with navigational equipment. Says a passenger, Jones ''threw his Walkman at the stewardess, and the businessman sitting there said, 'Come on, guys.' I turned around and three of (the band members) were on top of him.'' Onyx manager Jeff Harris, who wasn't on the plane, claims that Jones didn't hear the attendant and that the unidentified man—who police say was treated for bruises at a local hospital—provoked the attack. ''The other passenger said, 'Either you take it off or I'll take it off for you,''' says Harris. ''The next thing you know, he punched Sticky Fingaz.'' Jones faces a misdemeanor battery charge in Chicago. United declined comment.