Passenger Who Broke Flight Attendant’s Teeth Faces Federal Charges

The female passenger who allegedly punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, breaking three of her teeth during a May physical altercation, is facing federal felony assault charges.

In a year of escalating confrontations on board planes, Vyvianna Quinonez is accused of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and interference with flight crew members and attendants, according to court documents seen by CNN.

In the Quinonez case, court records say a flight attendant, identified by the initials S.L., asked Quinonez to stow her tray table, buckle her seat belt, and wear her face mask prior to landing at San Diego International Airport on May 23.

Quinonez apparently took umbrage at that.

The passenger then stood up and pushed the flight attendant and “knowingly assaulted S.L. by intentionally punching S.L. in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbing S.L.’s hair,” according to the documents.

“S.L.’s left eye was bruised and swollen; she sustained a cut under her left eye, requiring four stitches; she had a bruise in the shape of fingers on her right forearm, and three of her teeth were chipped — two of her teeth sustained such serious damage they were replaced by crowns,” the court records state.

A lawyer for Quinonez did not respond to a request for comment from CNN.