According to the video, Kinones, who was sitting in the aisle, stood up and hit the attendant’s face many times. She also grabbed her hair before the woman could go back up the aisle. Some passengers grabbed Kinones’ clothes and tried to stop.
The prosecution said a flight attendant, whose name was not mentioned in court documents, was taken to the hospital with injuries such as swelling of the eyes, bruising of the arms, and cuts under the eyes. She also had three missing teeth, two of which had to be replaced with crowns, they said.
According to court documents, Quinonez sought a sentence of imprisonment while the prosecutor demanded four months of detention and six months of house arrest. Judge Robinson “strongly considered the need for general deterrence” in making a longer sentence, “U.S. Federal Prosecutor’s Assistant Jacqueline Stahl said in an email.
“Victims include flight attendant victims and Southwest Airlines, as well as all passengers on the plane of the day and flight attendants working in the industry,” Stahl said. rice field.
In a letter to Judge Robinson dated May 18, Southwestern representatives said the company hoped the ruling would serve as a deterrent to unruly violent behavior. .. According to the letter, the company’s management heard that “countless flight attendants” who felt attacked during the pandemic pushed the fear of travel to the highest level ever.
“What happened on Flight 700 was absolutely horrifying,” writes Southwest Airlines Vice President Sonya Lacoa. “In my more than 20 years of career in the Southwest, I’ve never seen such an unforgivable and violent assault of flight attendants by passengers. To make matters worse, the incident was captured on video and on television. And was cast on a media channel. “
“The assault video still makes me sick,” she added.
