ISTANBUL

A Californian woman named Barbara Morgan has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, claiming that a passenger with a known history of in-flight attacks had sexually assaulted her on board, and the plane crew failed to assist her, Fox News reported on Thursday.

It was an overnight flight from San Francisco to Dallas on April 24, 2024.

The lawsuit claims that Morgan was sitting next to a Texas man named Cherian Abraham, who has a history of alleged in-flight attacks, in a middle seat.

Morgan claims that Abraham made unwanted physical contact with her in the darkened compartment throughout the flight. She asked for assistance to stop him, but the flight attendants allegedly did nothing.

When she landed, a gate agent asked her why she had not spoken up during the flight and advised her to file a complaint online, she claimed.

Morgan claimed that after several follow-ups, including letters to senior American Airlines officials, she received only a generic response.

When she eventually reached out to someone from American Airlines, they accused her of failing to report the behavior while in flight.

According to the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington, Abraham was federally charged in March with sexually assaulting another traveler on a flight, over a year after the alleged incident.

According to a news statement from the US Attorney's Office, Abraham "repeatedly" groped a 22-year-old lady who was seated next to him on a trip from Chicago to Seattle on March 18.

Morgan's lawyers are asking the US District Court in Northern California for a jury trial. The complaint accuses Abraham and American Airlines of negligence, fraudulent concealment, and gender violence.

According to the legal team, the lawsuit is about responsibility and how airlines handle allegations of sexual assault in flight, and it goes beyond a single.