While airline passenger misbehavior has become incredibly common nowadays, this is on a whole different level.
In this post:
Man arrested for rape on United Airlines flight to London
The Sun reports that a man has been accused of raping a woman in business class on a recent transatlantic flight. Specifically, this incident occurred on United Airlines flight UA14 from Newark (EWR) to London (LHR) on Sunday, January 30, 2022.
According to the report (and Met Police have confirmed the arrest and investigation):
- The man and woman were both 40 years old and traveling in business class
- They didn’t know each before the trip, but had been seen talking to each other before the flight in the lounge
- At some point during the flight while most other passengers were sleeping, the woman was allegedly raped by the man she had been talking to
- She was distraught and reported this to flight attendants, who had police meet the flight on arrival
- The man was taken into custody at the Heathrow police station, where his fingerprints, mugshot, and a DNA sample were taken; he was later released pending a further investigation
- A forensic search was conducted of the aircraft cabin
- The woman was taken to a rape counseling suite and interviewed
What an absolutely awful story. There’s no doubt some higher level of vulnerability when you’re sleeping near strangers on a plane without any sort of privacy. Even if this woman was chatting with the man before the flight, there’s a big difference between being friendly with someone and what allegedly ended up happening. Unfortunately some people just don’t have a good sense of boundaries, and a very serious line was crossed.
What kind of a plane was this?
For context, this flight was operated by one of United Airlines’ premium heavy Boeing 767-300s. The plane has 46 business class seats, in a 1-1-1 configuration, so each passenger has their own pod and direct aisle access.
While there is a good bit of privacy and cabins are usually kept dark in the middle of the night, these still aren’t fully enclosed suites with doors, or anything like that.
Bottom line
A man was taken into custody at Heathrow Airport after a United Airlines flight from Newark, after allegedly raping a fellow passenger. According to reports, the pair had been drinking together in the lounge before the flight, and then while other passengers were sleeping, he raped her.
If this is all as reported, hopefully the man is held responsible for how he acted. While there’s all kinds of bad passenger behavior nowadays, raping someone on a plane is next level terrible, and something we don’t often see.
How was he able to rape her without anyone noticing?
Why did noone (passengers or crew) hear her scream, shout or defend herself?
The writer does not understand the gravity of this crime. Another place women will not feel safe going forward. UNITED Airlines had already showed their disregard for the comfort & safety for their passengers. Remember the Asian Dr who was dragged off the flight to make room for a United flight attendant & the puppy who died because of instructions from a flight attendant in the overhead which is meant for luggage. Worst airline in...
The writer does not understand the gravity of this crime. Another place women will not feel safe going forward. UNITED Airlines had already showed their disregard for the comfort & safety for their passengers. Remember the Asian Dr who was dragged off the flight to make room for a United flight attendant & the puppy who died because of instructions from a flight attendant in the overhead which is meant for luggage. Worst airline in existence. Make sure your friends know about this latest incident on UNITED airlines.
How is that even possible? Theres people all around , and flight attendants are constantly up and down the aisles …. I can’t imagine how an attendant or passenger didn’t see something happen.
Shows yet again bad things can and do happen on airplanes.
I recall reading not too far back about a drunken assault on another drunk passenger in the middle of an overnight flight, that ending in much the same way as this horrible event, arrest on landing, and there were the reports some years ago of business class passengers being robbed on overnight flights though I never figured out how much of that was...
Shows yet again bad things can and do happen on airplanes.
I recall reading not too far back about a drunken assault on another drunk passenger in the middle of an overnight flight, that ending in much the same way as this horrible event, arrest on landing, and there were the reports some years ago of business class passengers being robbed on overnight flights though I never figured out how much of that was urban myth vs fact.
As with the things you hear about happening on cruise ships, where the cruise line holds all the cards, I guess the advice is drink moderately and don’t drop your guard.
1) The legal definition of rape here in the United States is as follows:
“The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
That means it can be rape even if it only took place for a few seconds if penetration is involved.
2) We don't actually know from...
1) The legal definition of rape here in the United States is as follows:
“The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
That means it can be rape even if it only took place for a few seconds if penetration is involved.
2) We don't actually know from the story here whether the alleged victim cried out or not.
3) It is in fact that the case--as JvdB notes below--that some people freeze when they are being raped. Some also don't cry out for fear of even greater physical violence. See Annie E Clark and Andrea Pino's We Believe You (particularly the story of Andrew Brown) and Jon Krakauer's Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town.
4) Could a rape allegation be false? Sure. The best research done in this field estimate that between 2-8% of rape accusations are false...or to put it differently, 92-98% are true. Note, however, that this story has been reported without naming the alleged assailant. There is no harm to the alleged perpetrator by reporting the story.
5) "Innocent until proven guilty" does not mean that you can't write about an alleged crime until someone has been convicted in a court of law. It means that legally, the burden of proof is on the prosecution. It in no way restrains the press or the public from reporting on alleged crimes or arrests! (Is there anyone here who thinks that there should have been no press coverage of the criminal case against O.J. Simpson for the alleged murder of his ex-wife and her friend?)
Common sense says there's a significant amount of information missing from this story. Because the logistics of the alleged incident - forcible intercourse in a public setting only feet away from other passengers and crew - don't logically add up. Is it possible? Yes, anything is. But the missing information is so significant that the rationale for posting an article at this juncture is dubious at best.
I agree, how do you get raped with your clothes on sitting down with all those people around. SCREAM!!!
There is just something very strange about this story. Rape is a different crime than sexual assault. If the allegations are, indeed, of rape, then it would surely have to be a Kitty Genovese moment, because I simply cannot imagine how everyone else in the cabin failed to notice.
Why is it that flight attendants are not "pulled up" about level of service in premium cabins? All other international carriers have their flight attendants on mandatory duty for most of the flights and that includes "patrolling" the cabins at regular intervals.
The idiot whom allegedly did this, deserves to be castrated. Zero tolerance.
Let's not forget, innocent until proven guilty. Maybe she wanted to join the MILE HIGH CLUB, they got caught, now she cries rape. Sounds a bit suspect that no one saw or heard anything. Let's wait until all the facts are heard.
We just had a similar incident at my airline where a female passenger accused a male passenger of sexual assault. Come to find out after the investigation, The two passengers got in an argument and the female passenger made it up to get back at the male passenger and to get him arrested. I am glad someone in the comments is able to give the presumption of innocence. That being said, If the passenger in this story if guilty, yea, throw the book at them.
1. I don't think this merited an article. People follow this blog for their points and miles related strategies. This has nothing to do with my strategy.
2. This is single sided. It's all from the point of view from the woman. What about the man? If this happened, I am not saying it was not wrong, what I am saying is that some of the details may be different than what she said. What led up to this event? He randomly raped her? What transpired in the lounge? etc.
And no one heard her cry out "NO"? Or hear any kicking? Any flailing? Screaming for help? Planes aren't that loud. Did he hold a knife to her throat to keep her quiet? Even covering her mouth with his hand in that setting wouldn't be that effective....unless she passed out or took meds to help her sleep or he put a date rape drug in her cocktails? What's going on, here??
I”ll hazard a guess and say it was a sexual assault like inappropriate touching. No way could full intercourse, pants around the ankles style, have taken place with no one noticing.
At least both sides are being given privacy in the press, perhaps by law. If this had transpired in the US, the accused's name would be out in the open before due process.
Something happened but wondering how it transpired that prevented the victim from verbally requesting help on the spot or being heard. This is the least likely location for someone to be armed.
Was the cabin so empty and this so...
At least both sides are being given privacy in the press, perhaps by law. If this had transpired in the US, the accused's name would be out in the open before due process.
Something happened but wondering how it transpired that prevented the victim from verbally requesting help on the spot or being heard. This is the least likely location for someone to be armed.
Was the cabin so empty and this so far back in it that the front FAs couldn't hear? Rear biz cabin is over the wing on the 763 premium config.
Not much being reported here in the UK apart from a few lines coming out of the BBC that the Met Police are aware and investigating. TBH we have a very poor record in prosecuting alleged sexual assault cases.
Please stop posting this type of tabloid garbage. Just because this happened on a plane doesn’t make it relevant for points and miles.
One incident doesn’t make it relevant in the grand scheme of how many flights there are.
I appreciate the travel content.
The biggest question, why did he think he could get away with it? Unfortunately the most likely scenario is while this could have been the first time on a plane, he may have done this before (on land) and never suffered any consequences.
The more I think about this the more I realize how possible this is...
1) It was overnight, I'm sure he waited until he believed her neighbors were asleep
2)...
The biggest question, why did he think he could get away with it? Unfortunately the most likely scenario is while this could have been the first time on a plane, he may have done this before (on land) and never suffered any consequences.
The more I think about this the more I realize how possible this is...
1) It was overnight, I'm sure he waited until he believed her neighbors were asleep
2) Many wear noise cancelling headphones/ear plugs and light blocking eye masks; he probably confirmed the neighbors did and perhaps the victim even did
3) She was most likely lying down and at least half asleep, easy for him to get into an overpowering position including covering her mouth before she realizes what's happening
4) Absolutely the least of our concerns but I'm really curious what things were like on the plane after she reported it. Things must have been awkward. The guy must have known she reported it and noticed the flight attendants being awkward towards him. Imagine being the flight attendant tasked with serving him breakfast and/or providing him any other service? Most likely they must have had to walk by each other when one of them needed the bathroom
See, proving my point in my previous comment. The wording and slant of this post leads many to just assume the worst. The problem with blogs today when approaching controversial incidents like this.
Before you speculate on how he did it, perhaps wait until you know more about it and if it's even true? Or wildly blown out of proportion? Search out Ben's great treatise on the German pop singer who alleged he was...
See, proving my point in my previous comment. The wording and slant of this post leads many to just assume the worst. The problem with blogs today when approaching controversial incidents like this.
Before you speculate on how he did it, perhaps wait until you know more about it and if it's even true? Or wildly blown out of proportion? Search out Ben's great treatise on the German pop singer who alleged he was a victim of anti-semitic rants at a Westin in Germany. Not everything is as a points blogger who is all of 30 and with no journalistic background decides to slant a post.
And no, I'm sorry, I fail to see any of your rationales as to how this could have transpired in a Polaris cabin on board an aircraft. Inappropriate contact? Sure. But actual rape? Are you serious? Have you ever flown in standard U.S business class cabins? Let alone the 767 Polaris config for United?
To the people who are surprised that this woman may not have screamed for help, first of all, congratulations, your life has clearly never been touched by sexual assault, or any other kind of violence, if it had, you would have learned that victims of sexual assault are as likely to "freeze, flop or friend" as they are to "Fight" or Flight". Here is a resource that may be helpful for you.
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/looking-for-tools-to-help-you-cope/feelings/fight-or-flight-response/#:~:text=Freeze%3A%20going%20tense%2C%20still%20and,seen%20and%20eaten%20by%20predators.
To the people who are surprised that this woman may not have screamed for help, first of all, congratulations, your life has clearly never been touched by sexual assault, or any other kind of violence, if it had, you would have learned that victims of sexual assault are as likely to "freeze, flop or friend" as they are to "Fight" or Flight". Here is a resource that may be helpful for you.
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/looking-for-tools-to-help-you-cope/feelings/fight-or-flight-response/#:~:text=Freeze%3A%20going%20tense%2C%20still%20and,seen%20and%20eaten%20by%20predators.
Come on? She did not scream or say anything? Somehow I don't buy the story here. Sounds like a woman regretting consensual sex and using the political agenda of blaming men as sexual predators.
wow you are an ass.
Yes, that’s it, you’ve cracked the case! How smart you must be. In fact she must also have been wearing a skirt that showed too much ankle and was therefore begging for it. C’mon, right?
Joe, I agree. Sunday morning regrets perhaps. With so many people close by why did this woman not scream? If she did, the ‘rape’ would never have happened. Was she drunk? Frankly, I feel sorry for the guy.
And NO ONE INTERFERED??????? SHE DIDNT SCREAM?? WTF?! SMTG MISSING…..
Lets see where the facts lead us. Don't need any rude comments, but we haven't heard the other side of the story.
Wouldn't shouting 'STOP' or 'HELP' alert other passengers or flight crew?
Was Biz nearly empty? That might explain no one nearby becoming aware of any such activity.
I've been on a lot of biz class overnight flights and can't understand how this would go unnoticed unless she was drugged and neighboring seat occupants just thought it was consensual tho in poor taste. Even then, had I been near enough to be aware of even consensual encountering I'd have gone up to the galley to ask...
Was Biz nearly empty? That might explain no one nearby becoming aware of any such activity.
I've been on a lot of biz class overnight flights and can't understand how this would go unnoticed unless she was drugged and neighboring seat occupants just thought it was consensual tho in poor taste. Even then, had I been near enough to be aware of even consensual encountering I'd have gone up to the galley to ask staff to intervene and I'm having a tough time to imagine that all other pax aware of the event would remain silent.
Much seems to be omitted here.
Nice clickbait, though.
Why didn't she yell for help?
My take is that she possibly was affected by alcohol intake or was slipped some drug while they were conversing. That would explain the lack of response by others, she might have been unaware herself.
This is why I suffer through transcontinental flights and never take any product that might induce or enhance sleep.
On a 6 hour flight it is not likely that she could get drunk enough to not be able to say NO loud enough for others to have heard and sober up enough to report it before they ended the flight.
Reports indicate that they spent time together in the lounge That could give up to 2 hours of drinking ahead of the flight. I still tilt towards some drug involvement.
I will admit that I have very little experience with excess alcohol nor other drugs.
How did no one notice? Did she call for help? Are there witnesses? So many questions.
PLEASE FIX SEXIST headline and story. Many people agree that if the story was reported as "Black man allegedly rapes woman", that would be racially biased. The same goes with "man".
Recommend replacing "man" with "person"
Person rapes person? No. Take your fake outrage elsewhere.
Well.......men can have babies now!!
Hmm, looks like the 'call attendant' button was broken for the lady. Rape does not take seconds where she couldn't call for help. It must be an empty plane. Call foul when things don't go your way. Too sad really...
how is that even possible on a flight especially when other people around, i think she looking for a paycheck.
This is reported as an alleged activity, but everyone rushes to the automatic assumption of guilt. I am really struggling to contextualize this actually happening in the middle of an aircraft cabin around other passengers, even during overnight. Even the slightest suggestion of a struggle our cry for help should have have quickly alerted crew or other passengers. Perhaps we need to wait for the investigation to hear all the facts, not just one perspective.
This is terrible! I'm scratching my head though how he was able to pull it off.
Apparently he did a lot more than that, so it is alleged...
“There’s no doubt some higher level of vulnerability when you’re sleeping near strangers on a plane without any sort of privacy.”
On the other hand having no sort of privacy may reduce the level of vulnerability.
LOVE the TMZ stuff im all for it. Sad to see the state of this blog diminish over time.
'The Sun' reported. i mean wtf.....
How does this even happen? In a plane full of passengers? Didn't the woman scream? Wouldn't that cause all passengers to wake up? So many questions, so little answers.
Your “fine line” remark is tasteless and wrong.
I think a woman can feel very vulnerable in a situation where you are thousands of feet in the air seemingly feeling alone and feeling like she brought this onto herself at the time the alleged rape was taking place because she was talking to the man previously in the lounge.
And I’m thinking it probably wasn’t intercourse and most likely hands inside her pants thing.
Totally the opposite, feeling alone is someone in the middle of a dark alley late at night, that feeling of lonely is not felt when you are crammed in a capsule full of people coughing, watching movies, on their tablets etc.. even more so she would have felt empowered to just say out loud " What the hell are you doing?" and catch everyone's attention, why did she not do that? was she passed out?...
Totally the opposite, feeling alone is someone in the middle of a dark alley late at night, that feeling of lonely is not felt when you are crammed in a capsule full of people coughing, watching movies, on their tablets etc.. even more so she would have felt empowered to just say out loud " What the hell are you doing?" and catch everyone's attention, why did she not do that? was she passed out? I think the day's when women felt less than a man and dominated are long gone, women are empowered to speak up in our times and that's the way it should be. If i am in line at the airport and try to skip in the ticket line I bet I would be called out in public. I have never ever understood these rape cases on flights, specially at night during transatlantic flights the isles are full of people making line to go to the loo, too much visibility for this kind of act,.
They were seated in different rows, I guess he has really long arms.
This is CNN level reporting where actual facts don't matter but only views/clicks.
would you prefer fox level "reporting" instead?
@Le chus-le
You mean honest and unbiased reporting. Why yes, we would.
Honest and unbiased, from Fox? My god, you prople really do live in an alternate universe.
Really? Lol.
When Gary Leff starting posting this crap and essentially became the National Enquirer of travel blogs, I unfollowed him everywhere and deleted bookmarks. I haven't read his site in years.
NOBODY would have missed this article had you chosen not to write it. Please don't degrade yourself by going down the path Gary did.
I would have missed it.
On it's surface, this is a horrible story. However, the devil is in the details and those details are very lacking (not Lucky's fault, nobody else has them either). For one thing, why didn't she scream when she was being assaulted? That would have resulted in instant attention. After all, it's an aircraft cabin and there's nowhere for the perp to run. And, logistically, how does this happen and nobody sees it? There's no locked...
On it's surface, this is a horrible story. However, the devil is in the details and those details are very lacking (not Lucky's fault, nobody else has them either). For one thing, why didn't she scream when she was being assaulted? That would have resulted in instant attention. After all, it's an aircraft cabin and there's nowhere for the perp to run. And, logistically, how does this happen and nobody sees it? There's no locked door. Again, how does such an alleged act of violence happen in silence like that? Lastly, it would be interesting to find out what the post-flight physical exam says about this. Was there evidence of forced intercourse? Were there marks or other evidence of violent assault. Remember, rape is not a sexual act; it's an act of violence. Which also renders that "fine line" comment moot.
Sadly, I question this whole story. It just smells bad to me.
Of course rape is wrong but something is just "off" about this story. Surely a couple of screams for help would have alerted the crew and other passengers.
Did he throw bleach on her and yell "This is MAGA country!" too?
Oh, and the cops must have been in on it too because they just let him go.
My thing is that if this occurred in the middle of the flight, where was the flight attendant at? Shouldn't they be walking the cabin to make sure everything is alright? Where's the service at UA?
It's not UA the issue, I fly UAL all the time transatlantic for business, not once on UAL or any other airline have I experienced a calm quiet 5 min of total calm and no one going down the isle to the bathroom or just standing to stretch, specially now with reduced flights airplanes are packed to capacity on all flights domestic and international. how can anyone not see a person or shadow come on...
It's not UA the issue, I fly UAL all the time transatlantic for business, not once on UAL or any other airline have I experienced a calm quiet 5 min of total calm and no one going down the isle to the bathroom or just standing to stretch, specially now with reduced flights airplanes are packed to capacity on all flights domestic and international. how can anyone not see a person or shadow come on top or side of another person without noticing what the intent is, specially a sexual act is not a quiet act in any shape or form.
Ah , I miss that much the info of Cathay F offers for 700 $ and now I get access to this rubbish my grandma wouldnt even consider to mention!!! What did i do bad , Lord??
Any detail about fluids you want to add to the thorough article????
Sorry to be pedantic, especially with such a horrible story, but the pic of the Polaris cabin is NOT a 767. As you said, it's a 1-1-1 configuration. That pic is of the 777 or 787 (1-2-1 configuration).
Yeah, disregard. I'm an idiot. It's 7:30AM here and I haven't had coffee yet. This is indeed the 767.
They can't even confirm they had intercourse? Rape kits do not exist in the UK?
Sounds like Texas
I'm not saying the woman is a liar but this is hard to comprehend. He would have had to gotten in her suite and why didn't see say something loud? Even in a business class cabin people are packed in tight.
This is officially the TMZ of travel blogs.
And I’m here for it.
Fine line indeed. Whenever I talk to a female, I have to be careful so I don't rape her *rolls eyes*
This post is exactly why Ben and most bloggers are NOT journalists and actually contribute to hysteria in the world. Is it worth reporting, sure. But how this post is worded, that is showing sympathy to an alleged victim and disdain to the alleged perpetrator is pretty unfair until more facts come out. While these are serious allegations and if true the person should face harsh jail time, that has not even come close to...
This post is exactly why Ben and most bloggers are NOT journalists and actually contribute to hysteria in the world. Is it worth reporting, sure. But how this post is worded, that is showing sympathy to an alleged victim and disdain to the alleged perpetrator is pretty unfair until more facts come out. While these are serious allegations and if true the person should face harsh jail time, that has not even come close to being presented.
Further, I find it also suspicious that it was in a 1-1-1 config in Polaris on a 767 which is very tight. How in the name of god would someone rape another in an open pod with other passengers literally inches away? I am 6-3 and take up every inch of space in Polaris. And if he climbed on top of her you might think other passengers would notice or she would scream or alert someone?
This whole story seems wildly strange, like the German singer alleging anti-semitism at the hotel in Berlin (or wherever it was) that Ben "reported." It will be interesting to see the outcome.
Do we know if other passengers were inches away? I don't see anything in the post indicating how full the flight was. Were most of the seats occupied or was the cabin mostly empty?
We don't. That's my point. We don't know a lot of things.
You probably also want to know what she was wearing and if she asked for it.
In fact, you are very wrong. And highly misplaced in your accusation. I simply want to know the facts and how a person could rape another on a plane in full sight of others and with no corroboration (thus far).
It’s a very sad state of affairs but unsurprising that even on a commercial flight there is a chance that sexual assault is attempted by some criminal pervert.
Despite all the terrible incidents of rapes that are committed by perpetrators who are strangers/unknown(-to the victims), most sexual assault is more akin to the date rape and other domestic violence sort where victim and rapist know each other. In this UA EWR-LHR incident, it has...
It’s a very sad state of affairs but unsurprising that even on a commercial flight there is a chance that sexual assault is attempted by some criminal pervert.
Despite all the terrible incidents of rapes that are committed by perpetrators who are strangers/unknown(-to the victims), most sexual assault is more akin to the date rape and other domestic violence sort where victim and rapist know each other. In this UA EWR-LHR incident, it has been reported that the reported victim and suspected perpetrator were boozing it up together in a pre-flight lounge. Sounds like the reported victim could have been in a state of mind where she was unable to consent and the reported suspect took advantage of the situation to commit the reported crime. Even taking it that the lights may have been out and cabin crew disappeared for chunks of time, many an alert and capable adult would ordinarily scream for help and get it; but a person may be in too much shock to make a scene fast enough and others during an attempted assault or adult may just be too mentally out of it due to alcohol, other drugs or even just deep sleep.
Another sensational headline accusing someone without clear proof before the end of the investigations.Just like the other big story you published about that Z-grade German singer wannabe who made a video wrongfully accusing the Westin staff of racism.
Any updates on that case????
Update: The clicks to that story have ended.
Guilty until proven innocent. Is that how it works in the UK? Cause that ain't how it works in the US. Writing stories like this is just bogus and slander.
OK now. First, "innocent until proven guilty" is a legal term, it doesn't mean any random person can't say that another person did something.
Second, "slander" requires saying something damaging to one's reputation. How can you damage one's reputation if you don't name the person?
That being said, I agree this whole post is trash and clickbait.
His name doesn't have to be used for it to be slander. He just has to be reasonably identifiable. Which I'm sure was easy considering he was publicly arrested in front of tons of people while exiting an aircraft in London. Let shit play out before writing BS like this. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not.
Alonzo, do you ever stop to consider why you’re such a rape apologist?
What BS was written here? It seems to me to be a factual retelling of an arrest that was made for the crime of rape.
Was he charged with a crime? Cause from what I read, he was arrested, fingerprinted and released. He wouldn't have been released in there was a crime of rape committed. Donkey.
Ah Alonzo, both a rape apologist and a moron.
Yes, he was charged with rape. Yes, even for rape, you’ll be released after being charged in the UK unless you pose an imminent danger to society. I guess if I’m a donkey you’re a miniature pony
Reported in “ The Scum”, a tabloid not worthy of toilet paper along with The Mail
Seems strange. How is it even possible ? In an aircraft. She could easily call for help
'a line WAS crossed..."
WAS?
"May have been" might be a wiser wording, Ben.
Whilst it's a serious allegation to be taken seriously, it's still an "allegation".
You're presuming his guilt before it's been proven (potential for a "defamation" claim).
The title says allegedly. Don’t freak out over “was”. Reminds me of the blue dress incident…
Not a fine line....a HUGE RED LINE.
A "fine line" between chatting and rape?? More like a mile wide brick wall...
I'm not doubting her story, I'm just wondering where and how on a plane something like this could happen. And how nobody else noticed?
I was wondering the same thing. But then I realized we're talking about a US carrier in the middle of the night. When was the last time you saw a UA (or AA or DL) FA walk the aisles of J or Y on a redeye - or any other flight - outside of meal service? If there's no specific, urgent, detailed need for FAs to be in the cabin, it's my experience that most...
I was wondering the same thing. But then I realized we're talking about a US carrier in the middle of the night. When was the last time you saw a UA (or AA or DL) FA walk the aisles of J or Y on a redeye - or any other flight - outside of meal service? If there's no specific, urgent, detailed need for FAs to be in the cabin, it's my experience that most (all?) are hiding in the galley. If there was a light pax load in J and given the darkness of the cabin and ambient noise, it could be possible. Now, I'm not expecting FAs to be police officers walking a beat up and down the aisles, but I think the overall absence of FA presence on US carriers absolutely contributed to this, if found to be true.
I can see it. Penetration with a finger is rape too. We don't know the details of course.
Was looking for this before I posted it. This is the most likely scenario.
I thought the same as well. Wouldn't she just have to yell no or stop loudly and FA's and fellow pax would hopefully intervene?
When I am watching a movie on a plane using my noise-cancellation headphones, I can't even hear the Flight Attendant asking for my order (the FA has to gently hold tap my shoulder for attention.)
Yes, but flight attendants aren't wearing noise cancelling headphones and those on duty should always be alert to any potential disturbance in the cabin, such as a dispute, unruly behavior, or a medical emergency etc..
What a terrible incident. Can an airline ban a passenger for any reason? Is there a mechanism for putting an individual on the “no fly” list when that individual has been convicted of a crime on an airplane?
Yeah....when that person is actually convicted.
You accidentally wrote that she reported this to FAs, who met the plane on arrival. I think you meant she reported it to FAs and police met the plane on arrival.
@ Matthias -- Fixed, thanks!
She only had to report it to the FA who would then inform the captain. He then radios ahead for police to meet the aircraft presumably this is what happened