United passenger claims she was 'trapped' with masturbating seatmate
· Toronto Sun
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A passenger on a United Airlines flight said she was forced to sit next to a man who pleasured himself and crew members failed to help.
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The 25-year-old woman, who has not been identified, had departed out of Rochester, N.Y., for Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on the morning of Sept. , when she alleges the man seated next to her was pleasuring himself, NBC News reported.
She said the man, wearing a T-shirt and hiking pants, was “pretty normal looking” and “unassuming,” and estimated he was around 35 to 40 years old.
“I just got the sense (he) had done it before,” she told the outlet. “People don’t just do those things at 6 a.m.”
‘Uncomfortable’ landing
The woman reported the incident to flight attendants, who allowed her to stand in the galley for about an hour before she had to return to her seat ahead of the landing.
She claimed she told staff that she was “uncomfortable” sitting next to the masturbating man but there were no other available seats on the flight.
She alleged they told her she would only have to remain seated for about five more minutes until the plane landed, but it ended up being longer because they were near the rear of the plane and had to wait for other passengers to disembark.
Once it was their turn, the masturbator got up and left, no questions asked.
When she went to a United gate agent to express her concerns, she claimed the employee responded, “What am I supposed to do about it?”
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Complaints filed
The woman, who works as a pediatric crisis therapist, later filed complaints with the airline, the Federal Aviation Administration, and she even called the FBI.
She claimed that United’s email replies, which were reviewed by NBC News , contained a lot of “offensive” and “blaming language.”
One response from the rep reportedly read: “I can imagine how upsetting and uncomfortable it must have been to experience behavior from another passenger that caused you concern, particularly while seated in a location where you felt concerned.”
The woman noted in her reply, “I DID remove myself and ask for help. Additionally, framing public masturbation as ‘behavior that caused me concern’ implies that what occurred could somehow be perceived as acceptable.”
‘Purposely trapped’
United gave her a $100 flight credit, despite her original trip costing around $400, she said.
The woman continued to have issues with how the airline handled the alleged incident, telling NBC that people have been removed from aircrafts for much less.
“It is the first time I’ve been purposely trapped by people who were supposed to be helping me,” she said.
United has since launched an investigation, saying in a statement, “We are looking into this report but don’t have anything additional to share at this time.”