An Australian woman who assaulted a flight attendant while apparently drunk during a United Airlines flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles earlier this year, has been found guilty of serious charges under US federal law.
Adau Akui Atem Mornyang, 24, of Victoria, Australia, was convicted on Thursday in relation to an incident on 21 January 2019 in which she appeared to be intoxicated and was verbally and physically abusive to personnel and other passengers during the flight.
9 News in Australia has since described Mornyang as an “Australian model” who was born in South Sudan and moved to Australia aged 10 as a refugee.
Be that as it may, the US jury found Mornyang guilty of a felony charge of interference with a flight crew and a misdemeanour assault charge.
According to evidence presented at trial, several hours into the flight, passengers approached a flight attendant to complain about Mornyang’s disruptive behaviour, which included flailing her arms and yelling obscenities and racial slurs.
A statement from the US Attorney’s office said: “When the flight attendant approached to assess the situation, Mornyang began to shout at the flight attendant and then slapped him across his face.
“The flight attendant attempted to restrain Mornyang until federal air marshals could assist. The federal air marshals were forced to stay with Mornyang in the rear galley of the plane for the remainder of the flight.”
Mornyang is scheduled to be sentenced on 24 June 2019 by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney. As a result of the guilty verdicts returned on 14 March 2019, “Mornyang faces a statutory maximum sentence of 21 years” in a US federal prison, according to the US Attorney’s office.
“Statutory maximum” means the upper limit, the highest amount of punishment a person can receive. It does not mean Mornyang will necessarily receive that.
This case was investigated by the FBI, which received assistance from the Federal Air Marshals and the Los Angeles Airport Police Department.
The case against Mornyang is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys MiRi Song and Kevin Reidy of the General Crimes Section.
Edited by Peter Needham
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