Woman sues American Airlines after seatmate allegedly sexually assaults her during night flight

EXCLUSIVE: A New Jersey resident says she was attacked on a commercial airliner, as in-flight sex assault is “on the rise,” according to the FBI

American Airlines owes its passengers a “duty of care” to keep them safe from harm while onboard, the victim’s lawsuit contends (AFP via Getty Images)

A New Jersey woman says she was sexually assaulted aboard an American Airlines flight by a stranger sitting in the next seat, and blames the carrier for not preventing the attack or intervening to stop it.

The woman, whose name The Independent is withholding for her privacy, is now suing American over the vile incident, which she says took place during an August 26, 2022, night flight 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 journey.

“Shortly after takeoff, the flight attendant turned off the cabin lights, and Plaintiff closed her eyes to sleep,” states the lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month in federal court. “Plaintiff awoke to find the Perpetrator’s left arm inside her pants and his right hand forcing her hand onto his penis.”

The stranger had covered the two of them with his black puffer jacket, and had “digitally penetrated her,” according to the suit, describing the woman as having been frozen in “a state of shock and panic.”

According to the lawsuit, the traveler managed to climb on top of her and continued the assault.

“Plaintiff gathered the courage to push [the] Perpetrator away, at which point he quickly returned to his seat.”

In-flight sexual assaults tend to occur when the cabin is dark and usually target victims sitting in window or middle seats, according to the FBI (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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

Once the aircraft landed, the man was “escorted off the plane,” and authorities took reports from the victim and other passengers who witnessed the attack, the lawsuit states. It “is unknown whether the Perpetrator was taken into custody and/or ever charged with the sexual assault of Plaintiff,” according to the suit.

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

In an email, an American Airlines spokesperson said, “We are reviewing the lawsuit and the details of the flight. The safety and comfort of our customers is a top priority for American.”

The alleged perpetrator, who is not named as a defendant in the suit, does not have an attorney listed in court filings, and was unable to be reached on Monday.

The lawsuit contends that the airline industry “is well aware” of a sharp uptick in onboard sexual assault allegations, citing FBI data. In 2023, according to FBI statistics, the bureau opened 96 cases stemming from allegations of in-flight sexual assault. It’s a crime that’s “on the rise,” the FBI said in a public alert issued in April.

At the same time, the FBI, which investigates crimes aboard aircraft, has said many incidents of in-flight sex assault go unreported.

The characteristics of an onboard sexual assault tend to be “strikingly similar,” according to the FBI alert. The attacks generally occur when the cabin is dark, and the victims are usually in a window or middle seat, it says, adding that victims “report waking up to their seatmate’s hands inside their clothing or underwear.” Perpetrators 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 reporting them to police for various reasons, including embarrassment, not wanting to “cause a scene,” or convincing themselves the assault “was accidental,” according to the FBI.

To that end, according to the new lawsuit against American Airlines, “Plaintiff did nothing to cause or contribute to the cause of the assault that she suffered.”

The suit says American “owed a duty of care” to ensure the woman’s safety during the flight, but “breached its duty of care by failing to properly monitor the cabin, failing to prevent the sexual assault, and failing to promptly intervene when the assault occurred.”

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