Woman files lawsuit following alleged in-flight sexual assault on American Airlines flight

CONTENT WARNING: The following story includes details regarding an alleged sexual assault.

A woman has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines following an alleged sexual assault on an April 2024 flight from San Francisco to Dallas, according to her attorneys Romanucci & Blandin.

According to the lawsuit, the assault was perpetrated by Texas man Cherien Abraham, who was previously reported to the airline for abuse of a female passenger on a 2023 flight.

The woman, identified in the complaint as Barbara Morgan, was flying to Dallas to celebrate her son's new job and home in the Texas city when she was assigned a middle seat next to Abraham.

According to the complaint, Morgan was sexually assaulted by Abraham on the flight and was ignored by flight attendants after yelling “Stop!” at the man.

Abraham, a corporate professional, was later arrested and charged by federal officials in connection with the assault of three other female passengers on separate flights, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges American Airlines dismissed Morgan's report of the abuse following the flight and had ignored previous complaints regarding Abraham's conduct on flights.

According to the complaint, Morgan alerted the American Airlines gate agent upon disembarking from the flight and identified her assailant, when she was asked why she didn't say anything regarding the assault mid-flight.

After explaining her fear of both retaliation from the assailant or possible anger from fellow passengers if the plane needed to be rerouted, Morgan was told there was nothing that could be done and that she should file a complaint on the airline's website, the lawsuit said.

Morgan reached out to American Airlines in writing the next day and was met with a generic response that promised further correspondence, which never occurred.

Morgan also directly wrote to the airline's Director of Customer Relations, Vice President of Reservations and Service Recovery and the CEO. Upon hearing back from a representative of the airline, the complaint alleges Morgan was once again blamed for not reporting the assault mid-flight.

“The FBI and American Airlines passengers have repeatedly warned the airline that inflight 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. This isn’t just a failure of policy; it’s a failure of basic responsibility. American Airlines must stop ignoring the alarm bells and take immediate, decisive action to protect its passengers like Barbara Morgan," attorney Patrick J. Driscoll of Romanucci & Blandin said.

The lawsuit was filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

“It is hard to describe how traumatizing it is to have a stranger touch you like that – on a crowded plane, in a confined space, with nowhere to go. I felt exposed and yet completely invisible. I felt paralyzed. When the flight landed and I reported what happened, I hoped American Airlines would step in and, at the very least, tell me they would do better to protect other women. Instead, I was met with cold responses and blame, as if I had done something wrong.  That sense of shame has stayed with me. I’m sharing my story because I don’t want other women to feel as alone or dismissed as I did. I’m sharing my story because it is time that corporations do better so my daughter, our daughters don’t have to be assaulted," Morgan said.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.