What was supposed to be a comfortable overnight journey from San Diego to Newark became a frightening experience for a local woman who says the passenger seated beside her began masturbating beneath a blanket shortly after takeoff. According to an investigation by NBC 7 San Diego, the woman had purchased a first-class ticket specifically to recline and sleep during the red-eye flight, but instead found herself in a situation that left her shaking, frightened and unsure how to escape.
The woman, whose identity NBC 7 withheld because she reported being the victim of a sex crime, said she noticed repetitive movements beneath her seatmate's blanket while the aircraft's seat belt sign was still illuminated. She then realized the man was allegedly watching pornography on his phone and masturbating in the seat directly beside her.
"I didn't know what to do," the woman told NBC 7 Investigates. "I was frozen. Horrified."
Compounding the situation, the woman was seated by the window while the man occupied the adjacent seat with his seat reclined, effectively forcing her to climb over him to reach the aisle. She eventually managed to get up and alert flight attendants, but said their initial response left her feeling even more vulnerable.
According to the woman's account, a flight attendant indicated she would speak with the man, but the crew did not immediately offer to relocate her or ask whether she felt safe. After briefly retreating to the restroom, the woman returned to the same seat beside the passenger she had just reported.
Still shaken, she began texting friends who worked as flight attendants, describing what had happened and asking for advice. Her friends urged her to get away from the passenger and insist on being moved, prompting her to approach the crew a second time.
Only after she specifically requested another seat did flight attendants accommodate her, reportedly switching her with another passenger. The woman described feeling compelled to apologize for inconveniencing the crew even while trying to escape a situation she considered threatening.
The ordeal did not end when the plane landed. According to the woman, the accused passenger was permitted to leave the aircraft without being stopped by law enforcement, and she was not initially instructed to contact the FBI. She ultimately reported the incident to federal authorities herself several days later.
United Airlines declined NBC 7's request for an on-camera interview and did not answer the station's question about whether it had notified the FBI. However, the airline acknowledged the complaint, apologized to the passenger and confirmed that it had taken action against the man involved.
"We take this issue seriously," United said in a statement to NBC 7. "We spoke with the customer and apologized for her experience. We have also banned the other person involved pending our investigation."
The airline's response became more revealing after NBC 7 contacted United about the allegations. A customer service supervisor subsequently called the San Diego woman and acknowledged shortcomings in how both the flight crew and the airline's customer service department had handled her complaint.
The supervisor reportedly acknowledged that the airline had fallen short in supporting the passenger and agreed that flight crews should do more to protect people reporting sexual misconduct and involve law enforcement when appropriate. United offered the woman either $1,000 in travel credit or 50,000 frequent-flyer miles, and she accepted the miles.
But the controversy extends well beyond one flight or one passenger's complaint. Just weeks earlier, another United Airlines passenger made national headlines after reporting an alarmingly similar experience on a flight from Rochester, New York, to Newark Liberty International Airport.
In that September 3 incident, a 25-year-old woman told NBC News that a man seated beside her masturbated while staring at her during the approximately hour-long flight. Despite reporting the behavior to flight attendants, she said she was instructed to return to her seat beside the same passenger for landing because no alternative seat was available.
The accused passenger was reportedly allowed to leave the aircraft without being detained by law enforcement. United subsequently offered the woman a $100 refund on a ticket that had cost approximately $400, a response that drew widespread criticism and eventually attracted the attention of Congress.
On October 6, Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan led a letter to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, joined by 28 other Democratic lawmakers, demanding answers about the airline's handling of the incident and its policies for responding to sexual misconduct aboard aircraft.
The lawmakers questioned how United defines sexual misconduct, whether the reported behavior violated company policies, how flight crews are trained to respond to such incidents and what changes the airline intends to make to protect passengers. They also challenged the reported failure to involve law enforcement and the decision to require the woman to return to her seat beside the accused passenger.
The congressional intervention placed United under additional pressure to explain why passengers reporting sexual misconduct were allegedly being left to advocate for their own safety rather than receiving immediate assistance from airline personnel.
The Rochester incident also prompted scrutiny from federal aviation authorities, with Bloomberg reporting that the Federal Aviation Administration was investigating the matter. That investigation concerned the earlier New York flight, not necessarily the separate incident reported by the San Diego woman.
According to NBC 7, a United customer service supervisor acknowledged to the San Diego passenger that the earlier incident had generated discussions within the airline's leadership. The supervisor reportedly agreed that complaints of this nature must be taken seriously even when flight attendants have not personally witnessed the alleged misconduct.
The similarities between the two cases are difficult to ignore. Both women reported men masturbating in neighboring seats, both described feeling trapped or unsafe, and both alleged that United personnel failed to take sufficient immediate action to protect them or ensure law enforcement was involved before the accused passengers left the airport.
The incidents also expose a troubling gap in airline procedures. According to NBC 7's reporting, airlines are not generally required to report every allegation of passenger sexual misconduct to police or federal authorities, even though certain conduct aboard an aircraft may constitute a federal crime.
The FBI, however, has made clear that sexual misconduct on airplanes is a serious law enforcement matter, not simply an uncomfortable interaction between passengers. Federal investigators have jurisdiction over a range of offenses committed aboard aircraft, including sexual assault, indecent exposure and lewd or obscene acts.
In an April 2026 public advisory, the FBI specifically identified lewd and indecent sexual acts among the categories of in-flight misconduct its agents investigate. The agency maintains airport liaison agents throughout the country to coordinate responses to crimes aboard commercial aircraft, including incidents that require immediate interviews with passengers and crew members.
The issue is not isolated. FBI statistics show that the bureau investigated 104 cases involving sexual assault aboard aircraft in 2024, compared with 96 cases opened in 2023. Federal authorities caution that the actual number of incidents may be higher because some passengers never report what happened.
NBC 7 also reported that the Transportation Security Administration had received 157 reports of sexual misconduct or sexual assault aboard flights during 2026 as of the station's reporting. That figure encompasses a broader category of reported conduct and should not be directly equated with the FBI's annual sexual assault investigation totals.
Oscar Medina, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego field office, told NBC 7 that sexual misconduct aboard aircraft is an increasingly serious concern, particularly on longer overnight flights when cabin lights are dimmed and passengers are sleeping.
Medina explained that offenders may exploit the confined environment of an aircraft, where victims have limited ability to move away, especially when seated beside a window or between other passengers. Women and unaccompanied minors are among those federal investigators have identified as particularly vulnerable, although such crimes can affect travelers of any age or gender.
The circumstances described by the San Diego woman closely resemble patterns previously identified by federal investigators. In a 2025 advisory, the FBI warned that aircraft cabins create opportunities for offenders to take advantage of sleeping passengers, limited personal space and the difficulty of escaping unwanted contact during a flight.
The agency has also stressed that passengers should not hesitate to report suspicious or inappropriate behavior, even when they are uncertain whether a criminal offense has occurred. Prompt reporting can help investigators identify suspects, locate witnesses and preserve evidence before travelers disperse after landing.
For passengers who experience or witness sexual misconduct aboard an aircraft, the FBI recommends immediately notifying flight attendants, requesting assistance and contacting airport police or federal authorities. Incidents can be reported directly to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or through tips.fbi.gov, including when an airline has not initiated a law enforcement response.
Federal investigators emphasize that reporting an incident after leaving the airport is still worthwhile, although delays may make it more difficult to interview witnesses or obtain other evidence. Victims may also request assistance through the FBI's victim services program.
The San Diego woman's allegations have not resulted in any publicly confirmed criminal charges, and the FBI has not confirmed whether it has opened an investigation into her specific complaint. United's decision to ban the accused passenger pending its internal investigation does not itself establish that a crime occurred.
Nevertheless, the airline's acknowledgment that its response fell short raises questions about whether its existing procedures adequately protect passengers who report sexual misconduct, particularly when the alleged offender remains seated nearby for the remainder of a flight.
For travelers, the expectation is straightforward. Purchasing an airline ticket, whether in economy or first class, should not require passengers to tolerate sexually inappropriate behavior or negotiate their own escape from someone they believe is threatening them.
The fact that two women have now publicly described strikingly similar experiences aboard United Airlines flights within weeks of one another, while federal lawmakers are demanding answers and FBI officials are warning of rising reports, makes the issue difficult to dismiss as an isolated customer service failure.
United has apologized to the San Diego passenger and barred the accused man while it investigates. Whether the airline implements meaningful changes to flight crew training, passenger protection and law enforcement notification procedures remains an important unanswered question.
For the San Diego woman, the experience turned an overnight first-class flight into an ordeal that continued long after landing. For United Airlines, it has become another test of whether the company can do more than apologize after passengers report sexual misconduct aboard its aircraft.
The broader question is whether airlines will establish clear, consistent procedures to protect passengers immediately when such allegations arise, rather than leaving frightened travelers to request help repeatedly while the people they have accused are allowed to walk away.
Originally published on October 20, 2026.
