Actress Selma Blair has said she "did not intend to harm anyone" following her arrest after an incident aboard a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York on Sunday evening.

New York airport officials responded to a call about "a physically abusive passenger" on the flight. Two flight attendants were injured during the incident, and one was taken to hospital, according to the New York Port Authority.

Audio recorded on air traffic control captured a pilot requesting medical assistance, describing "a bloody nose" and "some bite marks."

Blair was arrested and subsequently taken to hospital. The FBI issued her a federal summons on a charge of assault within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, relating to the on-board altercation.

Two additional assault charges were filed in state court after she was removed from the plane. Blair has pleaded not guilty to those charges and was released on bail.

Her publicist said Blair "had never been arrested before Sunday night" and described her physical achievements since her multiple sclerosis diagnosis as "nothing short of a miracle," adding that she still lives with pain daily.

"There is much more to this story than has been reported and we ask to consider the entirety of the facts before rushing to judgement, whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion," the publicist said.