Woman who busted flight attendant’s teeth charged with felony

She could face hard time for her infamous in-flight fight.

The Southwest Airlines passenger who was arrested in May for punching a flight attendant — and busting two of her teeth — could soon be facing the music.

Court records state that Vyvianna Quinonez was charged Wednesday in federal court with two felony counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and interference with flight crew members and attendants, the Sacramento, California’s KTXL news outlet reported.

Quinonez, 28, is slated to make her first court appearance on Sept. 17 in San Diego.

According to the complaint acquired by The Post, the in-flight fiasco began after the Sacramento resident lowered her tray table and unbuckled her seat table as Southwest Airlines Flight 700 descended into San Diego from Sacramento on May 23.

At that point, the flight attendant, identified only as S.L., asked the passenger to fasten her seatbelt, stow her table and place her mask properly over her mouth, per the legal complaint and a prior affidavit filed by the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department.


Quinonez attacks the unnamed flight attendant in the wild clip.
Quinonez attacks the unnamed flight attendant in the wild clip.
Michelle Manner

“According to witnesses, an altercation between a passenger and a flight attendant had taken place during the flight. During the altercation, the passenger struck the flight attendant, causing serious injuries,” the statement read.

However, Quinonez refused to comply with the request, and promptly shoved the crew member before standing up and punching her in the face, as seen in a wild video shot by a fellow passenger. The maskhole then grabbed the flight attendant’s hair before other passengers intervened, per the court docs

According to Lyn Montgomery, the president of TWU Local 556, the attack left the crew member with “injuries to the face and a loss of two teeth.”

Quinonez was arrested upon arrival by the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department, and has since been banned from flying Southwest Airlines. The airline hostess, meanwhile, was treated at a hospital and later released.

“As we’ve communicated previously, we do have a process to permanently restrict passengers from traveling on Southwest, and please know that the passenger involved in the most recent incident has been advised that she may no longer fly on Southwest Airlines,” Sonya Lacore, Southwest’s vice president of in-flight operations, wrote in the memo.

Quinonez claimed that she acted in self defense, according to new court docs, Fox reported.


The flight attendant was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries.
The flight attendant was taken to the hospital and treated for her injuries.
Taro Arai

And while the legal documents said otherwise, one passenger flocked to Quinonez’s defense, claiming that the stewardess had provoked the altercation by badgering and touching the passenger.

“It was so unnecessary. In the first altercation, she had said that she was going to call the captain,” said fellow passenger Michelle Manner of the initial mask dispute. “And she should’ve just stayed there in her back cubby, but she came back out screaming at them again.” 

Manner continued, “Vyvianna had said to her three times, that we could hear, ‘Get off of me. Quit touching me. Get your hands off of me.’”

“She was very unprofessional. Very rude about the way she handled anything,” she added of the flight attendant.

However, others felt differently, with fellow flier Susan Marie Stidham lamenting, “I don’t know what makes somebody do such a stupid thing, I honestly don’t.”