Business Class Passengers Accused Of Having Sex In Front Of A Child—But The Kid Was Asleep And No One Was Charged

A married father and a divorced woman met in Copa Airlines business class, stripped down under a blanket, had sex in front of a six year old and were arrested when the plane landed. That’s the version now making its way through English-language tabloids. The incident happened overnight May 8–9 on a Copa flight from Panama City to Rosario, Argentina. The passengers, a 54-year-old man and 59-year-old woman, reportedly occupied seats 1E and 1F. They hadn’t known each other before the flight. He is (or was!) a married architect and father of three and she’s as a divorced business owner. While reports identify the flight as CM836, it looks like the Panama City–Rosario flight was CM882, operated by Boeing 737-800 HP-1856CMP, arriving at 12:56 a.m. (CM836 was the return flight from Rosario to Panama.) Passengers applauded on arrival, then the cabin crew forced everyone to remain seated. One passenger relayed the announcement as, “We have a national security case, everyone remain seated.” Officers from Argentina’s airport security police boarded the plane and passengers reported that two people in business class had been caught having sex. The rest of the passengers weren’t allowed off until around 2 a.m. The two seatmates were removed and released several hours later – while the man’s wife was waiting for him at the airport. What Passengers And Prosecutors Saw The first reports claimed the pair were found semi-naked beneath a blanket, sometimes saying that a grandmother and granddaughter witnessed the act. A woman seated behind them was traveling with her six year old daughter. She testified that the two strangers began talking and later kissed. She did not see them having sex. Her daughter was asleep. Another witness said that he saw the man’s genitals exposed and confronted him. A crew member reported sexual behavior. There was no video. The woman’s lawyers said that she was exhausted and fell asleep. According to their account, the man asked for whisky, became argumentative when a flight attendant declined because of turbulence, and another passenger intervened. She was detained because she happened to be sitting beside him. They also questioned how the alleged activity would have occurred across the large fixed divider between business class seats. High degree of difficulty! The Case Ended Without Charges A prosecutor investigated the incident for approximately three months before archiving it on August 21. That is one way to spend your days at work. The potential offense was Article 129 of Argentina’s Penal Code, which covers obscene exhibitions exposed to involuntary observation by third parties. That requires direct intent to exhibit the conduct to others and they couldn’t establish intent. The passengers reportedly tried to conceal it under a blanket. Topics on this page