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Home » Law In Travel » Man Claims “Turbulence” Made Him Fondle Seatmate On United Airlines Flight
Law In TravelUnited Airlines

Man Claims “Turbulence” Made Him Fondle Seatmate On United Airlines Flight

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 21, 2022November 14, 2023 12 Comments

a plane on the runway at night

A man has admitted to fondling his female seatmate on a United Airlines flight, but claims that “turbulence” made him to do it.

Man Blames “Turbulence” For Fondling Seatmate On United Flight

26-year-old Ivan Lopez Jr. is accused of sexual harassment after fondling the breast of his seatmate on a United flight from Las Vegas (LAS) and Washington Dulles (IAD). The incident occurred on UA1484 on December 24, 2021.

Lopez was in an aisle seat, 12C, and the victim in the middle seat, 12B. After takeoff, the victim fell asleep, but awoke to find Lopez “rubbing up and down on her right breast.” The victim told FBI investigators Lopez’s hand motion were “not accidental” because the touching was a repetitive motion that happened over approximately 10 seconds. Lopez was also leaning over her as this sexual harassment occurred.

The victim screamed “get away from me!” and Lopez jumped up from his seat and  retreated to the back of the aircraft.

A flight attendant onboard told FBI investigators that Lopez appeared in the rear galley and confessed, without even being questioned, to groping a female passenger. Lopez further added that he was “in trouble” and sorry.

The flight attendant moved him to seat 21C, an exit row aisle seat. Lopez later told the flight attendant that he had a disability, which prompted his regrettable action.

But upon arriving in Washington Dulles, Lopez’s story had changed. There, he told FBI investigators that he simply wanted to get the woman’s attention because he was curious what she was listening to on her headphones.

According to Lopez, when he attempted to tap her on the shoulder, the aircraft hit turbulence and his hand fell upon her breast instead of her shoulder.

Lopez is charged with abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft in flight. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

CONCLUSION

The comical absurdity of Lopez’s defense aside, I am happy that Lopez is being held accountable for his action. Unwanted touching of any kind is never okay, but groping a seatmate while she is sleeping is particularly disgusting and reprehensible.

(image: Bill Abbott // H/T: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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12 Comments

  1. Santastico Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 9:49 am

    Oh well!!! Blame it on climate change which is increasing the occurrence of turbulence. LOL!!! Why there is always Las Vegas or Miami mentioned in these incidents?

  2. Debit Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 10:15 am

    Well at least he didn’t blame the devil like people have been doing for centuries and getting away with by calling themselves religious.

    Very proud of this man, not hiding behind fictitious characters to hide his crimes.

  3. Dave Edwards Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 11:02 am

    Lopez Jr, I’m sure Sr is proud of the publicly. Regrets not naming the kid Pedro now.

  4. Richard Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 1:16 pm

    Why didn’t he just head to the lav and rub one out the way the rest us do on a long flight?

    • Michael Reply
      January 21, 2022 at 5:55 pm

      LOL….that’s funny. Didn’t you see he has a ‘disability’? Good luck with that….

  5. pelican55 Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 1:29 pm

    LMAO… good Lord… there sure is some stupidity out there.. the things people come up with.. smh.

  6. Jackson Waterson Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 2:32 pm

    Time for cameras on the plane. If we are talking about economy, anything is plausible. We recently had a case where an Asian man had skull surgery to repair damage from a prior attack and he got into an altercation with a flight attendant. The man claims the flight attendant hit him while in the narrow passageway near the lavatory or galley and he defended himself to protect his surgically repaired skull (plate). The flight attendant says she didn’t hit him and he started the altercation. Given how confined aisles are, I believe the ma thought he was being attacked and had to protect his skull repair.

    There are a lot of perverts (we are not allowed to mention names of those we suspect here anymore due to the comments policy), however, there are a lot of situations that can be misconstrued. Economy seats are so small, there are only so many places hands can be in. If you fall asleep, your hands might fall into someone’s lap. I wish people demanded higher priced tickets if it means premium economy/domestic first seats become the lowest category on the flight. Until that happens, cameras are a solution to all these problems. He said she said is unacceptable to detain, arrest, or convict anyone on.

  7. DC not in DC Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 4:35 pm

    Does the FBI always handle groping/fondling/abusive sexual contact accusations concerning commercial flights? Are there FBI agents at all airports?

    I would have thought the local police or sheriff would handle these situations.

  8. Stuart Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 6:14 pm

    While I know this is low hanging fruit as to making jokes, I don’t find anything funny about this as seems to be popular in the comments. I am the first for irony and laughter. This is not one of those moments. It’s disgusting and savage and should be met with scorn and anger.

    • Bill Reply
      January 21, 2022 at 11:09 pm

      Well, he did rely on the “low hanging fruit” story, claiming her boob bounced into his hand in turbulence. This is a serious problem.

  9. Madge Reply
    January 21, 2022 at 7:17 pm

    I didn’t know Donald Trump was flying

    • Ron Reply
      January 21, 2022 at 8:34 pm

      That’s a great reply 😉

Leave a Reply to Debit Cancel reply

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