A flight heading from Orlando to Maryland turned chaotic over Memorial Day weekend when a woman allegedly struck a child who called her “fat” and “Miss Piggy,” according to airport police.
The woman, Kristy Crampton, was returning from a Disney World trip with a group — including the child involved — when the confrontation happened just before takeoff at Sanford-Orlando International Airport.
Witnesses told police the incident began when the child told Crampton she was too large to fit in her airplane seat.
Crampton allegedly reacted by punching the child, hitting them with a water bottle, and slamming their head against the airplane window as they tried to block the blows.
The pilot contacted authorities, and Crampton was taken into custody once the plane returned to the gate.
Crampton told investigators the child had been “very rude” and “disrespectful” throughout their Disney trip.
After the child called her “fat” on the flight, she said she confiscated their phone. She also claimed she began “smacking” the child only after they pushed her arm off the armrest twice.
However, a witness told officers the incident was far more than discipline, saying, “The woman was not correcting the child; she was abusing him.”
Airport police said the force Crampton used went “beyond typical disciplinary actions.”
She was charged with felony child abuse and appeared in court the next day, where a judge granted her a $10,000 bond and ordered her to have no contact with the child.
The child’s relationship to Crampton remains unclear, and the family declined to give statements to police.
