Woman who Attacked Flight Attendant gets Prison, as Incidents Decline

San Diego, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – As attacks on flight attendants decline, the fall-out from last year’s explosion of unruly passengers continues to play out.   

This week, a California woman was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for her attack on a Southwest Airlines flight attendant last year. Her attack was just one of nearly 6,000 incidents of unruly passengers the Federal Aviation Administration reported last year. Now, as incidents of unruly passengers seem to be falling, the perpetrators of last year’s attacks are beginning to see the results of their behavior.    

Vyvianna Quinonez was sentenced to prison time, and to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution, as well as a $7,500 fine, for her May 23, 2021 assault during a Southwest flight between Sacramento and San Diego. Additionally, Quinonez is banned from flying for three years while she is on supervised release and must participate in anger management classes or counseling.  

Last year, Quinonez pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew and attendants, and admitted she punched the flight attendant in her face and head. The attack resulted in the flight attendant suffering three chipped teeth, two of which needed crowns, as well as bruises and a cut under her eye that required stitches.   

Quinonez’s attack was one of the more brutal ones mid-flight. Others are also seeing their cases come before judges.   

In May, Maxwell Berry, a passenger on a flight to Miami who ended up strapped to his seat with duct tape because of his behavior, was sentenced to 60 days in jail.   

Berry, 23, of Norwalk, Ohio, was on a Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Miami on July 31, 2021 when he groped two flight attendants and punched a third.   

According to court records, Berry ordered a third alcoholic drink and brushed his empty cup on the flight attendant’s backside. The flight attendant admonished Berry not to touch her. Later, he spilled a drink on himself and emerged from the bathroom shirtless, authorities said. One of the flight attendants told him he needed to get dressed and helped him find a shirt in his luggage. Once dressed, Berry wandered around in the plane for 15 minutes, court records indicate.  

On at least two occasions, court records said, he groped two flight attendants, and then punched a male flight attendant. After fighting with the male flight attendant from his seat, crew members taped him to his seat. Once secured, however, he tried to initiate arguments, video shows, saying, “My parents are worth two million goddamn dollars,” and “I’m white. I’m sorry – I can’t change that.” 

In February, Berry pleaded guilty to three counts of assault in U.S. District Court in Miami. Berry will also have to pay more than $1,500 in restitution and a fine of $2,500.   

Jordan Galarza, the flight attendant Berry hit, called the sentence “a disgusting miscarriage of justice.”   

“He made an enemy of everyone on that flight,” Mr. Galarza told WPLG. Of the physical restraint, Galarza said, it “looked a bit barbaric, but the people on that aircraft saw justice happen — more than what we saw today.”  

Since March, attacks on flight attendants have been on the decline. The FAA reported only 1,562 unruly passenger incidents as of June 28, 2022. Of those 530 have been investigated and 329 have had enforcement action cases initiated.   

In 2021, the FAA recorded 5,981 unruly passenger incidents. Of those, 1,113 had investigations initiated and 350 had enforcement actions initiated.   

Unruly passengers are still a threat to flight attendants, crew members and passengers, however.   

On June 30, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana reported that an airline passenger who had pushed a flight attendant during a flight from Seattle to Charlotte, N.C. had pleaded guilty.  

On January 9, 2022, Adam Alexander Williams, 33, of Auburn, Washington, boarded the American Airlines flight, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Once in the air, Williams’ behavior turned erratic. The man yelled out “Where is Jamie Sanders?” before jumping over passengers in his row onto a beverage cart that was in service. As he came off the cart, he landed near a flight attendant, pushing her into a seat and spilling drinks and cups to the ground. Williams then ran down the aisle of the aircraft where another flight attendant calmed him down.   

Approximately 10 minutes later, Williams began to act up again and started screaming obscenities. Flight attendants place several Marines on the flight near him, court records show. Even surrounded by Marines, Williams began to act erratically a few minutes later, standing up and screaming while disrobing. With that last outburst, the aircraft’s captain diverted the plane and landed in Billings, Montana so Williams could be removed from the plane.   

Williams pleaded guilty to a charge of interference with flight attendants and crew members. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $25,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Williams was released pending further proceedings, the Attorney’s office said.