SAN DIEGO – A California woman who punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant during a tooth-breaking flight has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
The San Diego federal judge on Tuesday also ordered Vyvianna Quinonez to pay nearly $ 26,000 in restitution and a $ 7,500 fine for assaulting a May 23, 2021 flight southwest between Sacramento and San Diego.
The 29-year-old Sacramento woman is banned from flying for three years while on probation and must attend anger management or counseling classes.
Quinonez last year pleaded guilty to a charge of interference with flight crew members and attendees, admitting that he punched the flight attendant in the face and head with fist clenched and grabbed her hair. Neither she nor her lawyer could be contacted for comment on Tuesday.
During the last descent of the flight, the attendant had asked Quinonez to fasten his seat belt, to place the table on the tray, and to put on his mask properly.
Instead, Quinónez began to record the assistant on his cell phone, pushed her, then got up and punched the woman in the face and grabbed her hair before other passengers intervened, they said. tell the authorities.
The assault was recorded on another passenger’s mobile phone.
The statement agreed that the flight attendant suffered three broken teeth, two of which needed crowns, along with bruises and a cut under his left eye that needed stitches.
“Attacks on flight crew members, who perform vital tasks to ensure the safety of passengers, will not be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a statement after the sentencing.
FBI Special Agent Stacey Moy said the sentence should “send a very strong message to air travelers: the FBI will vigorously prosecute anyone who attacks or interferes with flight crews.”
The incident was part of an escalation in the rebellious behavior of airline passengers amid the coronavirus pandemic and led the flight attendant union chairman to call for more federal air commissioners on the planes.
Airlines in 2021 reported to the Federal Aviation Administration more than 5,000 rebel passenger incidents.
Most were passengers who refused to meet the federal requirement for passengers to wear face masks while on the plane, but about 300 involved intoxicated passengers, the FAA said.