Delta passenger downs 11 drinks, sexually assaults mother and daughter on flight; $2 million lawsuit filed

On a nine-hour Delta Air Lines flight, a man passenger sexually attacked a mother and her adolescent daughter. According to Fox Business, a USD 2 million complaint was submitted on Tuesday against the airline. The airline is being sued for willful carelessness, and damages are sought for the victims. According to court records, flight attendants on a nine-hour flight from JFK Airport in New York City to Athens, Greece, "blatantly ignored" the plaintiffs' cries for assistance and kept bringing the man beverages despite his obvious inebriation and aggressive behaviour.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the Eastern District of New York, the drunk man's aggressive behaviour towards the plaintiffs developed into inappropriate touching during the course of the roughly nine-hour journey.

Additionally, according to the lawsuit, the crew allegedly let the intoxicated man leave the aircraft at its destination without reporting the alleged sexual assault to local or federal law enforcement, according to Fox Business.

"The intoxicated Delta passenger appeared to be getting drunker and drunker as the Delta flight attendants continued serving him alcohol," the complaint states.

According to the court papers, the intoxicated person was seated close to a mother and her daughter. After a few beers, the man attempted to speak to a 16-year-old girl, who made an effort to ignore him. The man started yelling at the girl and acting aggressively towards her.

In addition to making "obscene gestures," the man sought her address and other details about her. The man allegedly frightened her by placing his hands on her back, according to the lawsuit.

Getting involved, the girl's mother informed the man that her daughter was a juvenile. The man grabbed the woman's arm and muttered, "I don't care."

The man was screaming loudly at them when other passengers began to notice the scene. The woman approached flight attendants and expressed her feelings of unease. They were then instructed to remain "patient" before leaving the area.

The inebriated man started caressing the child once more after murmuring that he was from Connecticut. The seats in front of them were being kicked by him. 

The incident took place on July 26, 2022 flight.

"What happened to them during a flight was not just a nightmare, it was completely preventable," the plaintiffs' lawyer, Evan Brustein, said, according to The New York Post.

The lawsuit claims that the guy called the mother and teen "f---ing bitches" at one point when the flight attendant did step in and tell him to stop talking to the plaintiffs.

According to a Fox Business report, the adolescent started having a panic attack because he was so afraid. She lowered her head to rest on her mother's lap, at which point the man allegedly reached inside her shirt with his "clammy fingers" in search of the clasp on her bra strap. The teen jumped out of her seat and away from the man, "trembling, petrified, and crying," according to the lawsuit.

The man then allegedly "began moving his hand" up the inside of the mother's thigh after placing his hand on her leg. She shouted as well and leaped from her chair.

The flight attendants allegedly responded that there was nothing they could do when the woman wanted to move their seat once more. A little while later, a male traveller offered to trade places with the teenager and spend the remainder of the flight sitting between the inebriated man and her mother.

The flight attendants apologised and gave the mom and her daughter 5,000 bonus miles after the plane touched down.

According to a statement made by Delta to Fox Business, the firm "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.

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