Woman sues American Airlines after seatmate sexually harassed her during night flight

A woman from New Jersey says she was sexually assaulted by a stranger in the seat next to her on board an American Airlines flight. She accuses the airline of failing to prevent the assault or intervene to stop it.

The woman whose name The Independent for privacy reasons, is now suing American over the heinous incident, which she says occurred during an overnight flight on August 26, 2022 from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Newark Liberty International Airport.

After taking a seat between a friend and an “unknown male passenger,” the woman settled in for the two-hour ride.

“Shortly after takeoff, the flight attendant turned off the cabin lights and the plaintiff closed her eyes to sleep,” says the complaint, filed in federal court earlier this month. “When the plaintiff awoke, she found the perpetrator's left arm in her pants and his right hand forcing her toward his penis.”

The stranger covered the two with his black puffer jacket and “digitally penetrated them,” the lawsuit says. The woman was frozen “in a state of shock and panic,” the lawsuit says.

According to the complaint, the traveler managed to climb on top of her and continue the attack.

“The plaintiff has had the courage [the] perpetrator away, whereupon he quickly returned to his place.”

The attacker then tried to act normal as if nothing had happened by asking the woman if she wanted some water, the lawsuit continues. It says she quickly managed to wake her friend, who reported the alleged assault to a flight attendant. According to the lawsuit, the woman was moved to another seat for the remainder of the flight.

After the plane landed, the man was “escorted from the aircraft” and authorities took accounts from the victim and other passengers who witnessed the attack, the lawsuit says. It “is unknown whether the perpetrator was taken into custody and/or ever charged with the sexual assault of the plaintiff,” the lawsuit says.

“As stated in the complaint, we look forward to seeking justice on behalf of our client to redress this terrible injustice for all that she has suffered,” said the woman's attorney, Brian Andris, The Independent.

In an email, an American Airlines spokesperson said: “We are reviewing the complaint and the details of the flight. The safety and comfort of our customers is American's highest priority.”

The alleged perpetrator, who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, has not listed an attorney in court records and could not be reached Monday.

The lawsuit claims that the airline industry is “well aware” of the sharp rise in allegations of sexual assault on board, citing FBI data. In 2023 according to FBI statisticsThe FBI opened 96 investigations into allegations of sexual assault during flights. It is a crime that is “on the rise,” the FBI said in a public warning in April.

At the same time, the FBI, which investigates crimes on board aircraft, said many cases of sexual harassment during flights go unreported.

The characteristics of an in-flight sexual assault are “strikingly similar,” according to the FBI alert. The attacks generally occur when it is dark in the cabin, and victims are usually seated in a window or middle seat, it continues. Victims “report waking up to find their seatmate's hands in their clothing or underwear.” Abusers also take advantage of passengers who may have had a few drinks or taken medication to sleep through the flight, and rely on their victims not to report them to police for a variety of reasons, including shame, not wanting to “make a scene,” or convincing themselves the assault was “accidental,” the FBI said.

In this sense, the new lawsuit against American Airlines states: “Plaintiff did nothing to cause or contribute to the attack she suffered.”

The lawsuit states that American had a “duty of care” to ensure the woman's safety during the flight, but “violated that duty by failing to properly monitor the cabin, failing to prevent the sexual assault, and failing to intervene promptly when the assault occurred.”

American was served with a subpoena on August 20 and has 21 days from that date to respond.