The federal government accused a Southwest passenger of assaulting a flight attendant after he allegedly squeezed her and tried to kiss her.
Passenger William Morgan, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Nevada, was flying from Palm Springs, California to Las Vegas, Nevada on 3 October 2022.
Around 20 minutes before landing, Mr Morgan approached a flight attendant, who is only identified as “C.B.” in the complaint, who was sitting in a jump seat at the back of the plane, according to the charges. He “demanded” that the flight attendant kiss him.
The flight attendant got up from the jump seat, prompting Mr Morgan to place his arms on her shoulders and once again demand C.B. to kiss him; he said “he was going to have a panic attack” if C.B. didn’t go into the bathroom with him, the complaint states.
That’s when the flight attendant pushed the passenger away, and asked for help from another flight attendant. C.B. later said she “felt her life was in serious danger.”
Another Southwest flight attendant, identified as “K.L.” came to help. After hearing C.B.’s request, she ran to the back of the plane and saw the passenger’s hands on the fellow flight attendant’s shoulders, so she tried to “calm him down by putting her hand on his shoulder.”
Then, Mr Morgan released his grip from C.B., and instead grabbed K.L.’s shoulders, according to the complaint. He repeated that he needed the first flight attendant to kiss him in order to calm down, before grabbing “C.B’s face and squeezed hard while trying to kiss her.”
K.L. later said she was “scared for her life.”
Concerned for other passengers’ safety, K.L. reportedly stood in the aisle during landing to block Mr Morgan from potentially accessing others on board.
According to the complaint, three male passengers tried to intervene during this exchange, and were able to “physically restrain” Mr Morgan as the plane landed. As a result of the commotion, the flight attendants were unable to complete the “final landing checks,” according to the complaint.
Mr Morgan faces two counts of simple assault, the complaint states.
