Woman sues American Airlines after ‘uncontrollably drunk passenger sexually assaulted her and grabbed her butt’

A woman is suing American Airlines because the company allegedly failed to protect her from an “uncontrollably drunk” passenger who allegedly sexually harassed her.

Gretchen Stelter, 42, was sitting in business class on a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Chicago on October 29 when she became engrossed in conversation with the man sitting next to her.

However, she said he became increasingly drunk and she became uncomfortable as he allegedly repeatedly touched her and tried to kiss her.

According to a lawsuit filed in Illinois on May 22, Stelter also claimed he grabbed her buttocks when she tried to switch seats with a sympathetic passenger.

She accused American Airlines of failing to take action to protect her and claimed that employees “pilloried and blamed” her.

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Stelter was returning from a trip with friends to Mexico and was revising a book manuscript before the incident.

But then the man next to her started talking to her and she decided to engage in a little small talk.

“It was pretty obvious right away that he wanted to chat,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “He just kept talking.”

She said they talked about everyday things before he became increasingly drunk on the flight.

Stelter claimed he complimented her on her looks and said he wished his girlfriend was more like her.

But she continued to reject his advances and told him she was “happily married.”

According to the lawsuit, two flight attendants were nearby when he made “vile, offensive and harassing remarks” to Stelter.

He allegedly told her that he would perform a sexual act on her and that he would “exhaust” and “f*** her”.

“Honestly, I was trapped,” she said. “I was on 3A. He was on 3B. The only way I could get out of that seat was to get help or climb over him, so he had full access to parts of my body that I didn’t want him to have access to.”

She added that the man told a flight attendant he was “just having fun” and that the employee took “no action to protect her.”

“He walked away, leaving the attacker with the alcohol that was still in his glass and the vodka bottle that was clearly visible on his tray table,” the lawsuit states.

Stelter claimed the man’s behavior worsened when he attempted to touch her, hold her hand and kiss her before spitting on the ground.

In her lawsuit, she claims that two flight attendants observed the passenger’s actions but did not help her despite her complaints. However, they allegedly warned him not to touch the other passengers.

“I think I was a little shocked that no one helped me,” said Stelter. “I just wanted to curl up and be as small as possible because I didn’t want to be touched anymore.”

She added that she wanted to switch seats with another passenger and the passenger noticed that she felt uncomfortable when the man allegedly grabbed her bottom as she stepped over him to get off.

According to the lawsuit, police removed the man from the plane immediately after landing because he was “too drunk to move safely.”

The lawsuit alleges that Stetler was “reprimanded and blamed” by gate agents after the incident.

She was reportedly told that she did not do enough to stop the man’s behavior and decided to file a complaint with American Airlines.

A customer service representative allegedly called her, yelled at her and blamed her for the incident.

“After explaining that she had alerted American flight attendants to the attacker’s behavior and they had taken no action, the American customer service representative yelled at (Stelter) and blamed her for the incident, causing (her) to burst into tears,” the lawsuit states.

But Stelter said she received another call from someone in American Airlines management who admitted the other employee did not handle the situation properly.

She claimed she was told a member of the global investigation team would contact her, but this apparently did not happen.

The passenger next to her was not named in the lawsuit and it is unclear whether criminal charges will be filed against him.

Stelter said she signed a complaint against him and was in contact with the FBI.

DailyMail.com has contacted American Airlines for comment.