Crime Wave Hits Skies: Former American Airlines Flight Attendant Indicted for Child Exploitation

Estes Carter Thompson III, a 36-year-old former American Airlines flight attendant, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly filming minors in an aircraft lavatory.

According to the indictment, Thompson was working as a flight attendant on September 2, 2023, when he allegedly video-recorded or attempted to surreptitiously video-record a 14-year-old female passenger as she used the aircraft lavatory.

The minor victim reported the incident to her parents, who notified other flight attendants and the Captain, who in turn notified law enforcement on the ground. Thompson was subsequently arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and has been in federal custody since.

A search of Thompson’s iCloud account allegedly revealed four additional instances between January and August 2023 in which he recorded a minor using the lavatory on an aircraft. The minor victims allegedly depicted in the surreptitious recordings were seven, nine, 11, and 14 years old at the time.

Thompson is also accused of possessing images of a nine-year-old unaccompanied minor, including photos taken while she was seated in her seat pre-flight and close-ups of her face while sleeping. Hundreds of images of child pornography were also found stored on Thompson’s iCloud account.

The indictment charges Thompson with one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. The case is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.