(CNN) – A woman from Michigan says a passenger sexually assaulted her while she slept on a morning Spirit Airlines flight that left Atlanta to Detroit.
Tia Jackson, 22, a student from Detroit, told CNN that she was traveling in the middle seat next Tuesday with a friend who stood in the window. The aisle seat corresponded to a man they didn’t know, he said.
During the flight, Jackson said he put on his AirPods and fell asleep resting his head on his friend and turning his back to the man in the hall chair.
Just before the plane landed, she felt that the person next to her was touching her, and at first she didn’t know exactly what it was. “Then I thought, maybe he just hit me lightly,” he said. Then the touch changed and she felt the man’s hand inside the back of her pants, Jackson said.
She immediately jumped up and pressed the call button for the plane’s personnel, she said, and then said to the man: “Hey, you’re going to stop touching me! Get out of me!”.
Jackson said he notified the flight attendant, who offered to change her seat, but she refused because she didn’t want to leave her friend alone and felt she was being punished for what he had done.
“He touched my ass. He needs to change seats! ”Says Jackson, who responded to the flight attendant.
Neither passenger was moved
Neither the man nor Jackson were moved from their chairs, she said, and the plane landed at the Detroit airport. The young woman said she talked to the pilot while getting off the plane, and the pilot told her to talk to the entrance agent.
Jackson added that she felt ignored and mistreated by the airline, so she filed a complaint with the police at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
Spirit Airlines said it is aware of the incident and offered Jackson to change his seat at that time.
“We take this claim seriously and are in direct contact with the passenger. We thank our crew for their quick and professional assistance to address the situation, ”the airline said in a statement.
“Our flight attendants aboard that flight learned of the alleged incident 18 minutes before landing, when the passenger pressed the call button and received immediate attention. Once she informed the flight attendant that she approached her seat, the flight attendant directed her to another chair. The cabin crew wanted to change her, and not him, because the movement would have left him with an empty seat on one side and a corridor on the other, ”the company added.
Spirit Airlines also said that when Jackson refused to move, the landing was imminent and everyone should sit down as required by federal regulation.
“The police began their investigation immediately after the arrival of the flight,” the airline said. “We are supporting the police while investigating. Questions about that investigation should be addressed to them, ”he completed.
Passenger says the airline failed her
Jackson said he is telling his story because he is worried that there are other possible victims. “He needs to be held accountable. Is a predator. It shows predatory behavior. Who knows who else has done this, ”he explained. “I don’t want anyone else to have to be a victim of him.”
She also accused airline employees of failing him when she reported the alleged incident. “They let him and any possible witness leave,” Jackson said.
Police told CNN that the report has not been finalized and that the FBI is conducting the investigation.
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