SAN DIEGO (AP) — A California woman who punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant in the face and broke her teeth during a flight has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Vyvianna Quinonez was also ordered Tuesday by a federal judge in San Diego to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine for the May 23, 2021 attack on a Southwest flight between Sacramento and San Diego.
Quinonez, 29, of Sacramento, has banned a woman from flying for three years while under supervision and must participate in anger management classes or counseling.
Quinonez pleaded guilty last year to one charge of interference by flight crew members and attendants, admitting she punched the flight attendant in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbed her hair. She or her attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
During the final descent of the flight, the flight attendant had asked Quinonez to fasten her seatbelt, stow her tray and put on her facemask properly.
Instead, Quinonez began recording the attendant on her cell phone, pushed her, then stood up and punched the woman in the face and grabbed her hair before other passengers intervened, authorities said.
The attack was recorded on another passenger’s cell phone.
The plea deal said the flight attendant had three chipped teeth, two of which required crowns, along with bruises and a cut under her left eye that needed stitching.
“Attacks against flight crew members who perform essential duties to ensure passenger safety will not be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a statement following the sentencing.
Stacey Moy, FBI special commander, said the verdict should “send a very strong message to air travelers — the FBI will vigorously prosecute anyone who attacks or interferes with aircrews.”
The incident was part of an escalation of unruly air passenger behavior during the coronavirus pandemic and prompted the chairman of the flight attendants’ union to ask for more federal air marshals on planes.
Airlines reported more than 5,000 incidents of unruly passengers to the Federal Aviation Administration in 2021.
Most were passengers who refused to comply with the federal requirement for passengers to wear face masks on airplanes, but nearly 300 involved inebriated passengers, the FAA said.
