Smart appeared on CBS News to discuss her self defense program, Smart Defense, when she revealed that she had another harrowing experience when flying home to Salt Lake City in 2019. 

"I've always felt safe on an airplane," she said to Gayle King. "I've never been worried, I've never felt threatened on an airplane. Until now." 

When Elizabeth was on that plane, she said that the man sitting next to her began touching her inner thigh while he thought that she was asleep. 

"I had been asleep, and all of a sudden, I woke up because I felt someone's hand rubbing in between my legs, on my inner thigh. 

"I was shocked. The last time someone touched me without my say so was when I was kidnapped and I froze," Elizabeth recalled. "I didn't know what to do. I speak to other women about it, I tell them that it's okay to say no, and it's okay to take care of yourself and to stay safe."

"I kept saying to myself, 'you're Elizabeth Smart. You should know what to do,'" she said.

Smart said that when she woke up, she expected the man to apologize or have some sort of reaction to touching her while she slept. She said that he was completely silent. 

She then told representatives for Delta, the airline she was flying, about the ordeal.

"I filed a complaint online, and they called me back," she said about Delta's reaction. "They were super apologetic, but it's not Delta's fault. I mean, it was this man. This man made a decision. But I wanted Delta to know, and they were very appalled. They offered to help me as much as they could, to back me as far as I wanted to take this."

She said that she spoke to the FBI too, and that the investigation is ongoing.