The family of a North Carolina teenager is suing American Airlines, claiming a flight attendant taped an iPhone to an airplane lavatory to record her use of the bathroom during a flight in September.
Lawyers for the 14-year-old and her parents say American Airlines “knew or should have known that the flight attendant posed a danger.” They said the failure of other crew members to confiscate the employee’s phone allowed him to destroy evidence.
The lawsuit against Fort Worth-based American Airlines and the unidentified flight attendant was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in North Carolina.
American said the flight attendant was “suspended from duty” immediately after the alleged incident and has not worked since.
“We take this matter very seriously and have cooperated fully with law enforcement in their investigation as safety is our top priority,” American said in a prepared statement.
According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred on Sept. 2 on a flight from Charlotte to Boston.
The girl said that while she was waiting to use the toilet in the economy section where her family was sitting, the flight attendant told her to use one in the first-class cabin. He first went into the bathroom and said he had to wash his hands, then came out a minute later to tell the girl that the seat was broken but not to worry about it.
The girl said that after going to the bathroom, she noticed an iPhone that was mostly covered by red tape that said “Decommission” – but the camera flash was on.
The girl was “shocked and frightened,” the lawsuit says. “She immediately remembered that someone had put the phone there to film her going to the toilet.”
She took her own photo of the device.
The family’s lawyers suggested that the flight attendant picked up the phone and deleted pictures of the girl before giving her father a chance to see his iPhone photos.
The family said an FBI agent later told the girl’s mother that they did not arrest the man because they did not find any incriminating images on his phone.
The family’s lawyers said they did not know the flight attendant’s name, where he lived or whether he still worked for American. The 14-year-old is in therapy for trauma, it was said.
Neither the girl nor her family are named in the lawsuit. The Associated Press does not name victims of sexual assault or abuse unless they come forward publicly.
Originally posted 2023-12-02 01:08:10.