An unruly passenger who was caught on camera viciously attacking a Southwest Airlines flight attendant during a flight, breaking her teeth, has been sentenced to over a year in prison.
A San Diego federal judge sentenced 29-year-old Vyvianna Quinonez to 15 months in federal prison on Tuesday, ordering her to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine for the May 2021 attack on a flight attendant identified only as S.L.
Quinonez was on a May 23, 2021 Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to San Diego when S.L asked her to buckle her seatbelt, stow her tray table and wear her mask properly during the descent – all violations of federal rules and regulations.
The assault was recorded on another passenger’s cellphone.
According to the plea agreement, the flight attendant suffered three chipped teeth, two of which needed crowns, along with bruises and a cut under her left eye that needed stitches.
Passengers on the plane captured pictures of the attendant following the incident tending to her bloodied face and leaving the plane in a wheelchair.
Now Quinonez, of Sacramento, is prohibited from flying for three years while she is on supervised release and must participate in anger management classes or counseling.
Last year Quinonez pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, admitting she punched the flight attendant in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbed her hair.
