Sacramento Woman Accused of Punching Southwest Flight Attendant Charged in Federal Court

Sep. 2—A Sacramento County woman accused of punching a flight attendant on a Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to San Diego earlier this year has been charged in federal court with assault.

Vyvianna Quinonez of Antelope was charged with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and another of interfering with a flight crew, both felonies. The charges were filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

The incident happened May 23 on Southwest Airlines Flight 700 from Sacramento International Airport to San Diego International Airport, according to the charging document.

The altercation began verbally with Quinonez refusing to comply with instructions to fasten her seat belt and stow her tray table, then escalated into Quinonez pushing and finally punching the flight attendant, according to the charging document, which refers to the attendant as "S.L."

"Quinonez began filming S.L. on her cellphone," the court filing reads. "S.L. again approached Quinonez, and Quinonez pushed S.L. S.L. said, 'You do not push a flight attendant,' or words to that effect.

"Around that time, another passenger on the airplane began filming the interaction on her cellphone. Quinonez stood up and knowingly assaulted S.L. by intentionally punching S.L. in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbing S.L.'s hair."

Chris Mainz, a Southwest Airlines spokesman, in emailed responses to The Sacramento Bee days after the incident said the altercation was "not mask-related."

However, the federal charging document says that while the attendant started by instructing Quinonez to "fasten her seat belt and stow her tray table," it also says the attendant "instructed Quinonez to wear her facemask properly." Masks have been federally required on airplanes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The altercation happened shortly after the plane landed in San Diego. Port of San Diego Harbor Police officers escorted Quinonez off the plane. She told law enforcement she acted in self-defense, court documents say.

A passenger seated a few rows in front of Quinonez shared a video of the incident with The Sacramento Bee. It showed the woman, identified by police as Quinonez shortly after the incident, throwing a punch that hit the flight attendant in the cheek, followed by several more punches that did not land. Blood could be seen streaming down the attendant's cheek in the video.

This week's court filing says the flight attendant needed four stitches under her left eye, had bruising on her arm and had three teeth chipped, two of which has to be replaced by crowns.

"It was all bad. It was a very shaking experience," Michelle Manner, the witness who shared the video with The Bee, said at the time. "The argument went both ways."

Manner also disputed the airline's claim that the incident did not involve masks. Her video shows Quinonez wearing a mask, but the mask was not covering her nose. Manner said she shared her video with law enforcement.

A union president wrote in a letter to the Southwest Airlines CEO that the attendant suffered facial injuries and lost two teeth.

Lyn Montgomery, president of TWU Local 556 representing Southwest flight attendants, mentioned the incident as being just one of the latest and most dramatic in a wave of "passenger misconduct" incidents she said was becoming "intolerable." Montgomery in her letter to CEO Gary Kelly said there had been nearly 500 such incidents on Southwest flights between April 8 and May 15 of this year.

Quinonez is due for an initial court appearance Sept. 17. Interfering with a flight attendant carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Mainz, the Southwest spokesperson, confirmed to The Bee in May that Quinonez has been permanently banned from the airline.

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