Delta Connection Employee Says If It Happened, He Was Asleep

A 14-year-old girl has accused an off-duty Delta Connection pilot of groping her while on a flight from Detroit to Salt Lake City Saturday, but the pilot says if anything happened, he was asleep when it did.

The girl was traveling as an unaccompanied minor on the flight. She says she chatted with 45-year-old Michael Pascal (pictured in Salt Lake City Police photo) briefly before putting the armrest between their seats down. She says she pulled up her legs and turned away from Pascal and went to sleep.

USA Today reports that, according to court documents, the girl said she later woke up to find the armrest up and Pascal's hand "palm up and gripping her buttocks but not moving." She says she jabbed him with her left elbow and said "what the hell are you doing?"

Pascal said through his attorney that he was also sleeping, that he'd fallen asleep with his hands in his lap and does not recall where his hands were when he received the elbow jab. He says he apologized to the girl, who was on crutches because of a foot injury. Pascal is based in Detroit but lives in Park City, UT. He was deadheading home when the incident occurred.

The girl was reseated and flight attendants notified airport police. Pascal has not yet been arraigned in the incident, and is currently not in custody. Delta is reportedly "fully cooperating" in the investigation, but says it is a case of misconduct of an individual, not the airline.

Meanwhile in Nashville, a federal air marshal has been relieved of his duties and will soon be out of a job after being accused of taking photographs under women's skirts and dresses with his cell phone.

USA Today reports that Adam Bartsch (pictured in Nashville Police Photo) has been charged with disorderly conduct after a witness took Bartsch's cell phone while boarding a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Tampa Wednesday and showed it to a flight attendant. He has since admitted to taking the illicit photographs.

Federal Air Marshal Service Spokesman Michael Pascarella said in a statement that the service "does not tolerate that sort of criminal behavior." He said Bartsch has worked for TSA for about three years.

Barstch is currently free on $10,000 bond.

FMI:  http://slcpd.com, www.police.nashville.org