Woman Assaults Fellow Passenger On Flight

An Oregon woman was accused of assaulting a fellow passenger an Alaska Air flight from Las Vegas to Portland. 

The plane was in Oregon airspace when the crime reportedly occurred, Oregon Live reported. A female passenger told flight staff she was touched on her breasts and genitals by another passenger, and Port of Portland police were sent to meet the arriving flight around 9:20 p.m.

The suspect was identified as 26-year-old Heidi McKinney, the police report stated. 

McKinney was taken from the airport to a Multnomah County Jail on a charge of third-degree sex abuse.  She was booked on $2,500 bail, The Smoking Gun reported.

McKinney was not immediately charged for the incident, KGW reported.  A “no complaint” disposition was ultimately filed and McKinney was released; with local prosecutors deciding not to pursue charges against her.  The case was referred to federal officials for review.

McKinney had previously been charged with drunk driving, reckless driving, and being a minor in possession of alcohol, a report from Heavy stated. 

It was not officially confirmed at first whether or not alcohol played in a role in McKinney’s conduct on the flight, but a fellow passenger reportedly tweeted that the incident caused passengers to be stuck on the plane after it landed — adding that McKinney was seemingly drunk.

User @3hubcaps wrote about the incident on Twitter. 

“So that’s why we were stuck in the sweltering plane. She was DRUNK when Portland PD escorted her off the plane,” the user wrote alongside a link to a story on McKinney’s arrest.

When McKinney was being led off the plane, the user tweeted:

“Ooooh. She’s DRUNK. Can’t walk down the plane aisle drunk. Holy s**t.”

Sources: Oregon Live, KGW, The Smoking Gun, Heavy / Photo credit: Heavy