Woman who assaulted flight attendant during Phoenix-bound flight sentenced
Woman sentenced in flight attendant assault
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Jan. 30 that a Seattle woman involved in an incident onboard a flight to Phoenix has been sentenced.
PHOENIX - The U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Jan. 30 that a Seattle woman involved in an incident onboard a flight to Phoenix has been sentenced.
What we know:
The woman, identified as 24-year-old Aliyah Robyn Stalder of Seattle, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to Assault by Striking, Beating, or Wounding on an Aircraft.
Per the statement, a judge sentenced Stalder to three years of probation.
Dig deeper:
Officials said during the probation period, Stalder will not be allowed to travel by commercial aircraft without getting prior approval.
The statement also notes that Stalder will have to pay a $5,000 penalty that Federal Aviation Administration officials imposed, in addition to over $8,000 in restitution.
Statement details what happened during flight
The backstory:
Officials said the incident involving Stalder happened on a commercial flight from Seattle to Phoenix on Feb. 9, 2023. The statement did not identify the exact flight where the incident happened, nor did it reveal which airline company was operating the flight.
Investigators said during the flight, Stalder tried to open multiple cabin doors, and had to be restrained by flight crew members and other passengers.
"During the struggle to restrain Stalder, she assaulted one of the flight attendants," read a portion of the statement.
Unruly passenger incidents down from 2021 peak
By the numbers:
Per the Federal Aviation Administration website, unruly passenger incidents saw a dramatic rise in 2021, but have subsequently declined.
At its peak in March 2021, the FAA received 720 reports of such incidents. For that entire year, there were 5,973 reported incidents.
For the year 2023, there were a total of 2,076 reported incidents, and for the whole of 2024, the number stood at 2,102.