BOSTON — An Arizona executive was convicted on Tuesday of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman seated next to him on a flight from Dallas to Boston.

Deepak Jahagirdar, 55, of Scottsdale, Ariz., was convicted by a federal jury after a six-day trial and five hours of deliberations of sexually abusing and having abusive sexual contact with the 22-year-old woman.

Jahagirdar, who was ordered held until sentencing on June 24, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the sexual abuse charge, three years in prison on the abusive sexual contact charge, and a $500,000 fine.

The woman, traveling alone and returning home from a vacation in Texas in March 2002, told authorities that she fell asleep early on the Delta Air Lines flight and awoke to find that Jahagirdar had covered her with a blanket, unbuttoned her pants and had his hand inside her.

The woman left her seat and alerted the flight crew. Jahagirdar, a marketing manager for a health care company, was arrested by Massachusetts State Police when the flight landed at Logan International Airport in Boston.

The woman’s DNA was found on Jahagirdar’s hands, according to prosecutors.

Jahagirdar testified during the trial that the contact was consensual.

The case was transferred to federal jurisdiction because the assault occurred in mid-flight. Jahagirdar was arrested on the federal charges at his home on Jan. 13, 2004.