A Qantas flight attendant who punched her 50-year-old colleague after discovering she was sleeping with her ex-partner left injuries so severe doctors had to insert titanium screws into the victim’s face .
Arabella Kimberly Mai Lansdown wiped away tears upon learning her flight attendant career could be abandoned following her conviction as she faced sentencing in the Brisbane District Court on Wednesday.
The single punch Lansdown, 24, threw fractured his colleague’s cheekbone, upper jaw and eye socket.
The 50-year-old woman had to have surgery and titanium plates and screws had to be inserted into her face.
The two women had worked together as flight attendants and Lansdown considered the victim a “confidante” of the airline.
Qantas flight attendant Arabella Lansdown (pictured) has pleaded guilty to punching her colleague in the face, breaking her cheekbone, after discovering she had slept with her ex-partner.
The court heard Lansdown confronted the woman at her home on November 26, 2022 after discovering she had slept with Lansdown’s ex-partner.
Despite initial denials, the woman admitted to having sex and apologized.
“It was in this emotional circumstance that you delivered a single punch to his face,” said District Court Judge Vicki Loury KC in Lansdown.
“Perhaps unfortunately for you, that single punch caused significant injury.”
In her victim impact statement, the woman said she still suffered numbness and lingering psychological issues after the attack.
But Judge Loury noted that the same woman did not wish Lansdown harm, asking the court not to impose a harsh penalty.
“She writes: ‘Let this (the victim impact statement) and your own stress be punishment enough,'” Judge Loury said.
Lansdown pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single charge of grievous bodily harm.
The court heard Lansdown was “well regarded” by her colleagues, who said her actions were “totally out of character”.
Defense lawyer Martin Longhurst said his client began an Indigenous internship with Qantas while he was in high school and worked as a flight attendant for five years.
He told the court Lansdown risked losing her job as a flight attendant if convicted because she would not be issued an Air Security Investment Card required for domestic travel as part of her job .
Qantas had retained Lansdown’s employment and she could still work for the airline, but not on the planes, the court was told.
Mr Longhurst said important elements of the case included the “emotional” context of the confrontation, Lansdown’s young age and the lack of a criminal history at the time.
Despite being more than twice his age, the 50-year-old victim was considered a “confidant” by Lansdown when they worked together as flight attendants for Qantas.
He argued the injuries in this case were “bordering on” an assault causing actual bodily harm.
“I don’t think they are borderline, I don’t think you can say that,” Judge Loury told Mr Longhurst.
“This woman had to undergo surgery to repair these injuries…these are significant injuries, it is significant that it was a single blow that caused the injuries.”
“She is responsible for the injuries, whether she intended them or not.”
Mr Longhurst said Lansdown had suffered prejudice as a child and had consulted a psychologist regarding “difficulties” in accepting the end of the relationship with his ex-partner.
His client also offered compensation and wrote a letter of remorse to the court.
Judge Loury finally sentenced the 24-year-old young man to an 18-month prison sentence, but suspended for two years.
Lansdown was also ordered to pay $2,000 in compensation to the victim within four months.
