The incident was part of an escalation in unruly behavior by airline passengers amid the coronavirus pandemic and led the president of the flight attendants' union to ask for more federal air marshals on planes.Īirlines in 2021 reported more than 5,000 incidents of unruly passengers to the Federal Aviation Administration. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a statement after the sentencing.įBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy said the sentence should “send a very strong message to air travelers - the FBI will vigorously pursue anyone who assaults or interferes with flight crews.” “Attacks on flight crew members, who perform vital jobs to ensure passenger safety, will not be tolerated,” U.S. ![]() The plea agreement said that the flight attendant suffered three chipped teeth, two of which needed crowns, along with bruises and a cut under her left eye that needed stitches. The assault was recorded on another passenger's cellphone. Instead, Quinonez began recording the attendant on her cellphone, pushed her, then stood up and punched the woman in the face and grabbed her hair before other passengers intervened, authorities said. Neither she nor her attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday.ĭuring the flight's final descent, the attendant had asked Quinonez to buckle her seat belt, stow her tray table, and put on her facemask properly. Quinonez last year pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, admitting she punched the flight attendant in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbed her hair. The 29-year-old Sacramento woman is prohibited from flying for three years while she is on supervised release and must participate in anger management classes or counseling. ![]() Vyvianna Quinonez was also ordered Tuesday by the federal judge in San Diego to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine for the assault on a May 23, 2021, Southwest flight between Sacramento and San Diego. ![]() © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.A California woman who punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant in the face during a flight, breaking her teeth, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. “Let’s work together to increase personal safety and security across the industry and bring some stability back to our working lives,” she wrote. Montgomery asked Kelly to lobby federal officials for more federal air marshals on flights and to ban passengers who violate rules instead of putting them on another flight. She said there were 477 “passenger misconduct incidents” on Southwest planes between April 8 and May 15. “The unprecedented number of incidents has reached an intolerable level, with passenger non-compliance events also becoming more aggressive in nature,” the union boss wrote. Video on Facebook showed police officers with the San Diego Port Authority escorting a woman in leopard-print leggings and a sweatshirt from the plane. In her letter to CEO Gary Kelly on Sunday, Montgomery noted this was one of hundreds of recent incidents involving unruly travelers. Southwest said it flew a friend to San Diego to be with her. The flight attendant, who was not publicly identified, was treated at a hospital and later released. San Diego Harbor Police on Tuesday identified the passenger as Vyvianna Quinonez, 28, and said she was charged with battery causing serious bodily injury, a felony, local outlets reported. “While the flight attendant was staggering back with a bloody face, we were all told to stay in our seats while they brought in police to remove the unruly passenger.” □ 5 hr delay so far…but I don’t worry about what I can’t control & just enjoy the precious time w/Koki, our future hope! #PeacefulMind /NhmQAwSiPx- Taro Arai May 23, 2021 Sacto-San Diego-Dallas-Miami ✈️ Can we go any further in the US? Just witnessed a woman punch a flight attendant. Police were asked to meet the plane when it arrived in San Diego, and the passenger was taken into custody, Mainz said. The shocking incident took place on Sunday morning, after a flight from Sacramento landed in San Diego, according to a Southwest spokesman.Ī female passenger “repeatedly ignored standard inflight instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing,” the spokesman, Chris Mainz, said Tuesday. Lyn Montgomery, the president of TWU Local 556, drew attention to the attack in a letter to the airline’s CEO, writing that the flight attendant was “seriously assaulted, resulting in injuries to the face and a loss of two teeth.” airportĪ Southwest Airlines flight attendant had two of her teeth knocked out by an unhinged passenger over the weekend, according to a union leader. ![]() ‘This man took manspreading to another level on my flight’Īmerican Airlines passenger allegedly punches employee, causing ‘permanent’ scarringĭisturbing, viral video sees man harass Muslim woman wearing hijab at Fla. Spirit Airlines passenger caught on video leaping over seats in rush to deplane: ‘Touch me, motherf–ker’
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