1. American Airlines has new attorneys after previous lawyers made controversial claims regarding a 9-year-old girl being filmed in the bathroom by a flight attendant.
2. The airline is facing multiple lawsuits due to criminal charges against former flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson, accused of filming underage girls on flights.
3. Thompson, facing federal charges related to attempted sexual exploitation of children, was arrested after a 14-year-old girl discovered a recording device in the bathroom on a flight from North Carolina to New York.
American Airlines has hired new attorneys after previous lawyers suggested that a 9-year-old girl should have realized she was being recorded in the bathroom by a flight attendant. This incident stems from criminal charges against former flight attendant Estes Carter Thompson, who was accused of filming underage girls by attaching his phone to the bathroom toilet seat. Thompson is facing federal charges of attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of images of child sexual abuse after a 14-year-old girl noticed a phone with its camera flashlight turned on in the bathroom on a flight from North Carolina to New York.
The girl’s mother claimed that Thompson used psychological tricks to make her daughter think the interaction was not strange. An attorney representing the 14-year-old’s family in a civil suit is also representing the family of a 9-year-old who says Thompson filmed her on a flight in January 2023. American Airlines initially claimed in court records that the 9-year-old should have known she was being recorded, absolving the airline of negligence. However, after public backlash, the airline walked back these claims, amended the complaint, and stated that the defense was not representative of the company.
Now, American Airlines confirmed that they have replaced the attorneys who wrote the complaint following the intense media and public backlash. The new representation is expected to lead to the airline taking more responsibility for the incident. The attorney representing the families expressed confidence that a Texas jury will hold American Airlines responsible for what happened to their clients.