A woman is suing Delta Air Lines after she was sexually assaulted on a flight last year.
The woman was flying from Phoenix to Seattle on her way back from attending a Taylor Swift concert when the incident occurred, according to a press release from Mark Lindquist Law, an aviation and personal injury firm representing the victim.
The lawsuit was filed in King County, Washington, against Delta and the perpetrator, who was a Delta mechanic at the time of the incident, Newsweek reported.
Duane Brick, 53, pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact in March, admitting that during the flight, he had taken the victim’s hand and placed it on his crotch, per the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
He also reached under her shirt and groped her breast while she appeared to be asleep, per the Attorney’s Office statement. Brick now faces up to two years in prison.
The new lawsuit says that “as a common carrier, Delta owes the highest duty of care and has a legal duty to provide airline passengers, including the Plaintiff, with a safe flight that is free from unauthorized and abusive sexual contact from other passengers, including from Delta’s own employees.”
It claims that the flight crew “overserved alcohol to Mr. Brick, failed to adequately train employees on how to prevent and address sexual assaults, and failed to properly monitor the cabin and protect passengers.”
It adds that the victim and a witness reported the incident to staff, but Brick was allowed to remain in his seat for another 15 minutes.
“Everyone should feel safe to fall asleep on a plane without the risk of being groped and sexually assaulted,” Lindquist, the victim’s attorney, said.
“Airlines can and should do more to stop these gross violations,” he added.
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Business Insider has reached out to Delta for comment.
Delta is facing another lawsuit from the family of a 13-year-old girl who was also sexually assaulted on a flight.
The suit claimed Delta staff “enabled” the assault by allowing the “visibly intoxicated” offender, Brian Patrick Durning, to board the flight and serving him alcohol throughout.
A Delta spokesperson said the company would not comment on pending litigation” but had “zero tolerance for unlawful behavior on flights and in airports.”
US Attorney Tessa Gorman said that “the Western District of Washington continues to see an alarming increase in sexual abuse cases aboard aircraft.”
“Last August we emphasized that we have zero tolerance for such assaults. Sadly, we continue to learn of new allegations and are investigating and charging those cases,” she added.
Indeed, The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington highlighted two other incidents in March in its jurisdiction.
A 38-year-old Indian citizen was arraigned on a charge of abusive sexual contact for an assault on a teen sitting near him on an Emirates flight to Seattle, it said.
Meanwhile, Jack Roberson, 69, entered a plea of guilty to simple assault for his contact with a 15-year-old seated next to him on a July 2023 flight from Atlanta to Seattle. Roberson faces up to a year in prison when sentenced on June 5, 2024, said the US Attorney’s Office on March 8.
Sexual assaults on aircraft are also increasing nationally, with the FBI last year noting a “disturbing increase” in incidents.
It said that in the first half of 2023, 62 cases were under investigation, up from 27 in the whole of 2018.
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