A 24-year-old woman assaulted a flight attendant and now she could go to jail for 21 years

Hope Schreiber
·Writer
An Australian woman could face 21 years in federal prison for assaulting a flight attendant on a United flight. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
An Australian woman could face 21 years in federal prison for assaulting a flight attendant on a United flight. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

An Australian woman flying from Melbourne to Los Angeles International Airport on a United Airlines flight could face 21 years in federal prison after she assaulted a flight attendant.

The 24-year-old woman, Adau Akui Atem Mornyang, has been found guilty of the Jan. 21 incident. “The jury found Mornyang guilty of a felony charge of interference with a flight crew and a misdemeanor assault count,” a press release from the United States Department of Justice read.

According to the release, Mornyang appeared to be intoxicated on the flight and became verbally and physically abusive to staff and her fellow passengers.

Evidence shared at the trial included Mornyang becoming disruptive during the 14-hour flight, in which she flailed her arms and yelled obscenities and racial slurs.

After passengers approached a flight attendant to complain about the woman’s behavior, he went to Mornyang’s seat to assess the situation. Mornyang then slapped the flight attendant across the face after yelling at him. Federal air marshals on the flight restrained the woman and stayed with her in the rear of the plane until it landed at LAX.

The press release states that the case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Federal Air Marshals and the Los Angeles Airport Police Department.

Mornyang is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24.

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