Woman Blasts Airline for Weak Response to Alleged Masturbating Man

A California woman is blasting United Airlines for allegedly not doing enough to punish a man who she says masturbated in the seat next to her last month as he watched a pornographic video on his phone.

“I didn’t know what to do,” the woman said. “I was frozen. Horrified. My whole body was shaking. I’m essentially trapped in the window seat. I would have to climb over him because he’s got his seat fully reclined in order to get out,” the New York Post reported on October 21.

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“The woman told NBC 7 she was on a red-eye flight from San Diego to Newark and went first class so she could recline her seat further and sleep during the trip,” the Post noted.

The alleged victim described that about witnessing jerking motions underneath the man’s blanket at about 6 a.m. on the September 3 flight.

The woman added that she was finally able to get out of her seat to alert the flight crew about the mid-air masturbation — but claimed that a flight attendant did not ask if she was okay or if she wanted to move seats.

She later had to leave her seat a second time, go back to the flight crew, and ask to be moved, at which point she was relocated to a different seat, the woman told NBC 7.

The woman also said that United Airlines did not offer to report the alleged in-flight masturbation to law enforcement so that police could meet her at the gate.

Notably, airlines are not legally required to report passenger sexual misconduct to the police or any federal agency.

“We take this issue seriously,” a United Airlines spokesperson told NBC 7. “We spoke with the customer and apologized for her experience. We have also banned the other person involved pending our investigation.”

The outlet reported that a United supervisor later called the alleged victim, acknowledged that the airline had “missed the mark” with regards to how it handled the matter, and offered her either $1,000 in travel credit or 50,000 air miles. She accepted the miles.

The woman added that several days later, when she spoke with United Airlines customer service, she was told to contact the FBI.

While the FBI declined to comment on whether or not it is investigating the matter, the agency told NBC 7 that these types of incidents on airplanes are not rare.

“People are taking advantage of people that are asleep on an airplane. It’s often females, sometimes minor children. These people are trying to — using the confined space and opportunity — take advantage of people,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Oscar Medina of the FBI’s San Diego field office said.

Medina added that most of these types of incidents occur on longer nighttime flights when the cabin is dark, though he clarified they could happen on any flight at any time of day.

What these incidents have in common, the FBI agent said, is that the attacker is almost always a man, and the victims are usually sitting in a middle or window seat, where they can more easily be boxed in.

The FBI is advising that passengers leave their seats as soon as they feel uncomfortable and alert a flight crew member that they do not feel safe and need to be moved.

The agency further suggested that passengers facing such incidents speak up and draw attention, given that the more people who see what is happening, the more witnesses the FBI can interview.

Women traveling alone are also advised to choose an aisle seat whenever possible.

The FBI added that if an airline does not contact the agency on your behalf, you can call them yourself at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Alana Mastrangelo-Wrask is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.