A woman has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, saying a man sexually assaulted her during a red-eye flight from San Francisco to Dallas last year.
Barbara Morgan, a California resident, said that shortly after the flight took off and the lights were dimmed, the man sitting next to her in the middle seat started rubbing his arms against her in a deliberate attempt to touch her breasts.
She tried to create some distance from the man, Ms. Morgan said, but he was undeterred. “He placed his hand on the plaintiff’s upper thigh, slid it up toward her vagina and fondled her genitals,” the complaint said, adding that the man put a bag on his lap to conceal an erection.
The lawsuit, filed on April 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, one year after the alleged incident, said that the accused, Cherian Abraham, had been reported to the airline previously, but was allowed to keep flying. In March, Mr. Abraham was arrested and charged by federal investigators with abusive sexual contact linked to three incidents of sexual assault on airplanes, including the one against Ms. Morgan. Mr. Abraham pleaded not guilty to all charges and a trial has been scheduled for Aug. 4. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Last month, the F.B.I. reported that sexual assault on airplanes is on the rise, with 104 cases investigated by the bureau in 2024, up from 96 in 2023. The agency warned that the number of incidents could be higher as some cases may have gone unreported.
“Sexual assaults typically occur on long commercial flights, and offenders tend to be male, seated directly next to the victim, and under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” the F.B.I. said in a statement published on its website last month. “They may try to conceal their activities, for instance, by using a blanket to cover the victim or taking advantage of a darkened cabin.”
In her legal complaint against American Airlines and Mr. Abraham, Ms. Morgan accused the airline of negligence, stating that flight attendants rarely walked through the cabin and failed to respond to her distress signals when she twice yelled, “Stop.” When she reported the incident at the arrival gate, she said the American Airlines agent engaged in “victim blaming,” asking why she hadn’t taken further action to report the incident during the flight.
In the lawsuit, Ms. Morgan said she “froze” after the incident, fearing that if she made a scene, the man would retaliate or the flight would be rerouted, which would anger other passengers.
“The safety of our customers and team members is our highest priority,” an American Airlines spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We take this matter very seriously and are working closely with law enforcement on its investigation.”
Mr. Abraham has since been barred from flying with the airline.
“The F.B.I. and American Airlines passengers have repeatedly warned the airline that in-flight sexual assaults are occurring on American Airlines flights — and American Airlines has had every opportunity to take those warnings seriously. Instead, they’ve turned a blind eye, leaving passengers vulnerable at 30,000 feet,” said Patrick J. Driscoll, an attorney for Romanucci & Blandin, the law firm representing Ms. Morgan.
“This isn’t just a failure of policy; it’s a failure of basic responsibility.”
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