4 Months for Drugging Child on Flight

4 Months for Drugging Child on Flight

The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel

Northwest Worker Sentenced for Incident
Associated Press

DETROIT - A Northwest Airlines flight attendant who spiked a toddler's apple juice with an anti-anxiety drug to stop her crying was sentenced Wednesday to four months of home confinement.

Daniel Cunningham, 39, of Ann Arbor, pleaded guilty in May to federal charges that included assault and distribution of a controlled substance on an aircraft.

The incident was discovered by the 19-month-old girl's mother, who took the juice off the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight last August after noticing that it was bitter and foamy and had blue and white specks floating in it.

Turner had it analyzed by a laboratory, which confirmed the presence of Xanax, which is prescribed for panic attacks and anxiety, the FBI said. The drug can cause drowsiness and lightheadedness.

The girl suffered no serious injury.

Cunningham was fired by Northwest. Federal sentencing guidelines called for zero to four months' in prison.