Woman Sues American Airlines Over In-Flight Sexual Assault, Cites Negligence

A California woman has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by a fellow passenger during a flight and that airline staff failed to intervene, according to a Fox News report.

Barbara Morgan claims the incident occurred on April 24, 2024, during an overnight flight from San Francisco to Dallas. She was seated next to a Texas man, identified as Cherian Abraham, who allegedly has a prior history of in-flight assaults.

According to the lawsuit, Abraham repeatedly made unwanted physical contact with Morgan throughout the flight’s darkened cabin. Despite her appeals for help, the flight crew allegedly took no action. Upon arrival, a gate agent reportedly questioned her delay in reporting the incident and directed her to file an online complaint.

Morgan says that after multiple attempts to reach airline leadership—including formal letters—she received only a generic reply. Eventually, she claims, an American Airlines representative blamed her for not speaking up sooner during the flight.

The lawsuit also references a separate federal case in which Abraham was charged in March by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington State for allegedly groping another passenger—a 22-year-old woman—on a March 2023 flight from Chicago to Seattle.

Morgan’s attorneys are seeking a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for Northern California. The legal action accuses American Airlines and Abraham of gross negligence, fraudulent concealment, and gender-based violence.

The lawsuit, Morgan’s legal team states, aims to hold airlines accountable for how they respond to in-flight sexual assault allegations, emphasizing that the issue extends far beyond this individual case.