Woman tries to open Alaska Airlines cabin doors, then bites flight attendant, feds say

A 24-year-old woman was sentenced after federal authorities said she bit a flight attendant onboard an Alaska Airlines flight.

In 2023, Aliyah Robyn Stalder was onboard an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle, Washington, to Phoenix, Arizona, when she tried to open cabin doors, according to court documents and a Jan. 30 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

That’s when crew members tried to restrain her, and she bit one attendant on the hand, authorities said.

McClatchy News reached out to Stalder’s lawyer Jan. 31 for a statement and was awaiting a response.

The flight attendant had to receive medical attention and suffered a puncture wound and soft tissue swelling before being given antibiotics and a tetanus shot, prosecutors said.

In November, Stalder pleaded guilty to assault by striking, beating or wounding on an aircraft, according to authorities.

Stalder was sentenced to three years of probation, prosecutors said.

McClatchy News reached out to Alaska Airlines for a statement Jan. 31 and was awaiting a response.

As part of her probation, she is not able to fly a commercial aircraft without approval and she must pay a $5,000 penalty as well as $8,000 in restitution, officials said.

This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Woman tries to open Alaska Airlines cabin doors, then bites flight attendant, feds say."