(File Photo of the Pittsburgh International Airport Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A woman who says that she was sexually assaulted by a passenger on a United Airlines flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago wants answers from federal authorities just over five weeks after the reported incident happened. 

The victim told WPXI that she was traveling for work on September 22nd when a man who was sitting next to her started touching her and exposed himself.  

She stated that this happened about 30 minutes into the flight.  

She noted that she was sitting in a window seat and initially made conversation with the man who was beside her.  

She said she put in her AirPods later on and turned toward the window because she wanted to be left alone. 

The man raised the armrest between them repeatedly after she put it down. 

She confirmed that he pulled out a blanket at one point during the flight, and according to the victim, she began to feel something against her arm, but initially thought it could have been because the passengers were sitting close together. 

However, she affirmed that he was rubbing her arm and he positioned the blanket so that it blocked the view of the two of them. 

She also said that he touched her inner thigh and her leg. 

That is when he exposed himself and touched himself. 

She remembered him mouthing the word “no” after she told him she wanted to get up. 

She eventually woke another passenger up and went to the back of the plane, which is where she told a flight attendant what occurred. 

She was then moved to another seat. 

According to a statement from United Airlines: 

“We take this issue seriously, and this customer was moved to a different seat after reporting the incident to the flight crew. We also spoke with the customer and apologized for her experience. Law enforcement met this aircraft upon arrival in Chicago, and we have banned the other person involved pending our investigation.”