Airplane sex case: Woman drunk; lewd act occurred as man slept next to them

DETROIT — A couple caught in a sex act on a Detroit-bound passenger jet last month not only tried to hide their activity with a blanket, but pulled it off while a man was sleeping in the same row next to them, according to a police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press. As one passenger wrote in a witness


statement: "I felt bad for the guy beside them, but I guess he was sleeping."  What he slept through was an incident that triggered an FBI investigation: A  "highly intoxicated" woman was performing oral sex on a man in Row 26, triggering complaints from nearby passengers in other rows who caught on to what was going on. The woman in particular was less than cooperative, a police report ..
obtained by the Detroit Free Press.

As one passenger wrote in a witness statement: "I felt bad for the guy beside them, but I guess he was sleeping." 

What he slept through was an incident that triggered an FBI investigation: A  "highly intoxicated" woman was performing oral sex on a man in Row 26, triggering complaints from nearby passengers in other rows who caught on to what was going on. The woman in particular was less than cooperative, a police report said, noting she  "yelled and screamed" and was "continuously disruptive" after being hauled off to an airport jail cell.

These are some of the details involving the Oct. 29 incident, which was documented in a nine-page police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act.  The  Wayne Metro Airport Police Department, which responded to the incident, said both the man and women received citations from the FBI for lewd and lascivious behavior and for disorderly conduct.

More: Airplane sex case lands in FBI's lap; couple likely to avoid charges

According to the police report, the 48-year-old California woman and 28-year-old man met on the Delta Air Lines flight between Los Angeles and Detroit. The woman's seat was not in his row, but she switched her seat so that she could be next to him. 

At about 3:30 pm, the airport police at Detroit Metro received a report about two passengers having intercourse on the plane. "Per dispatch, the female involved was reported to be highly intoxicated," the report said.

When the plane landed at Detroit Metro, two police officers entered the plane. One of them spoke with the man, who said that the woman "had fallen asleep in his lap but that they did not have intercourse." He stated that he only "grabbed her breasts on the outside of her clothes."

An officer then questioned the woman, whose eyes were "bloodshot and red."

Both passengers were handcuffed and led away. The FBI was en route.

More: Ask the Captain: Is sex on a plane possible?

In the end, both passengers were issued citations based on passengers' witness statements, including one person who wrote that they "went to the row and witnessed the lady in the man's lap performing felatio. ... they had a blanket partially covering the 'act.' I asked for boarding cards and names."

The woman sat straight up in her seat. "He tried to apologize."

Police allowed both passengers to get their luggage. They tried to help the woman re-book her flight, but Delta said no. Security informed her she was "not permitted to fly Delta."

She left the next day, on another flight, without incident.