The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, states that the intoxicated man displayed aggressive behaviour towards the complainants and it escalated into inappropriate touching over the course of the nearly nine-hour flight.
New York: A male passenger has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman and her teenage daughter during a nine-hour Delta Air Lines flight. A USD 2 million lawsuit was filed against the airline on Tuesday, as reported by Fox Business.
The Lawsuit
The lawsuit alleges gross negligence on the part of the airline and seeks compensation for the victims.
According to court documents, the flight attendants on the 9-hour journey from JFK Airport in New York City to Athens, Greece, “blatantly ignored” the pleas for help from the plaintiffs and continued to serve drinks to the man, despite him being visibly drunk.
The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, states that the intoxicated man displayed aggressive behaviour towards the complainants and it escalated into inappropriate touching throughout the nearly nine-hour flight.
According to Fox Business, the lawsuit claims that the airline staff allowed the drunken man to leave the plane upon arrival at its destination without alerting local authorities or US law enforcement about the alleged sexual assault.
“The intoxicated Delta passenger appeared to be getting drunker and drunker as the Delta flight attendants continued serving him alcohol,” the complaint stated.
The Drunk Passenger Was Seated Next To The Woman And Her Daughter
According to court documents, the drunk passenger was seated next to a mother and her daughter. After consuming a few drinks, the man attempted to engage in conversation with the 16-year-old girl, who tried to ignore him. However, the man became aggressive and started yelling at her.
He made “obscene gestures” and demanded personal information from her. The lawsuit claims that he frightened the girl by placing his hands on her back.
The girl’s mother intervened, informing the man that her daughter was a minor. Despite this, the man disregarded her concerns and pulled the woman’s arm.
The Victim Also Reached Out To Flight Attendants
Other passengers witnessed the incident as the man continued to scream at them. The woman reached out to flight attendants and expressed feeling unsafe, but they asked her to be “patient” and walked away.
The man, who claimed to be from Connecticut, began touching the minor again and even kicked the seats in front of them.
The incident occurred on a flight on July 26, 2022.
At one point, a flight attendant did intervene and told the man to stop talking to the complainants. However, he allegedly yelled derogatory words at the mother and the teen.
According to the Fox Business report, the terrified teen began having a panic attack and sought comfort by putting her head down in her mother’s lap. It was during this time that the man allegedly slid his “clammy fingers” underneath her shirt and groped for the clasp on her bra strap.
The man then reportedly placed his hand on the mother’s leg and allegedly “began moving his hand” up the inside of her thigh. She screamed and jumped out of her seat.
The woman requested to change their seats, but the flight attendants allegedly said that there was nothing they could do. Eventually, a male passenger volunteered to switch seats with the teen girl and sat between the intoxicated man and her mother for the rest of the flight.
Flight Attendants Apologised
Upon landing, the flight attendants offered the woman and her daughter 5,000 free airline miles and an apology.
Delta told Fox Business that the company “has zero tolerance for customers who engage in inappropriate or unlawful behaviour.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people,” the airline said.