American First Class Passenger Dragged Off Plane Following Drink Request

There’s a video going viral on Reddit of someone being kicked off an American Airlines flight. While people get kicked off planes all the time, the backstory here, as well as the man’s reaction, make this pretty noteworthy.

American first class passenger forcibly removed from plane

A roughly five minute video has been posted to Reddit, showing an American Airlines first class passenger being removed from a Boeing 737. What’s interesting is how the conflict started that caused the man to be kicked off — it involved a request for a pre-departure beverage.

Time permitting, flight attendants are supposed to serve pre-departure drinks in first class, and it’s something that people seem to have very strong feelings about. I don’t get the passion for it personally, but to each their own.

Anyway, we don’t know what exactly happened leading up to this situation, since there’s no video of it. The man claims that he simply went up to the galley and asked the flight attendant for a pre-departure drink. Meanwhile the passenger seated behind him stated in the video that he acted “aggressively” toward the flight attendant. We don’t have any details beyond that.

What’s captured on video is when an American Airlines agent and a police officer board the aircraft to remove him:

• The man refuses to leave the aircraft, insisting to know what crime he committed
• The man is reminded that the pilot has requested that he get off the plane, but he keeps asking what crime he committed
• The man is repeatedly asked to get off the plane, and told that the crew will not be flying him, but he says that he won’t get off the plane
• Eventually the man starts recording, and the police calls for more support
• Someone takes the man’s phone, and at that point the police move in to handcuff him
• Only once the police take him into custody does he tell them that he’ll voluntarily get off the plane, as he repeatedly tells them to stop
• At this point the man starts screaming and crying, and he really starts bawling as he’s being handcuffed on the ground

You can watch the video for yourself below.

This isn’t how you should act in this situation

As I said above, we don’t know what happened leading up to this incident. Some passengers are ridiculous, some flight attendants are on power trips, and sometimes it’s a combination of the two. I could absolutely see a situation where a reasonable person could get kicked off a flight for having a slight attitude. That being said, two important points…

First of all, once the airline has made the decision to kick you off a flight, and especially once the police has been called, you should just get off the plane. You’re only making the situation worse for yourself by refusing to get off the plane.

I don’t know what exactly goes through peoples’ minds. “Maybe if I just say no, they’ll let me stay onboard?” That’s not how it works, and this is not a situation where you should double down. Furthermore, if you think you’re innocent, just getting off the plane as soon as possible will minimize the damage for you in terms of legal ramifications, as well as any issues with the airline. If you’re truly innocent, try to get contact info for some witnesses who can corroborate your story.

Second of all, this guy repeatedly saying how he didn’t commit a crime is completely irrelevant. You don’t have to commit a crime in order to be kicked off a plane, or to be kicked out of any private business. Peoples’ complete lack of basic understanding of how the law works really is dismaying.

But at the point when the guy is saying all of this, he actually was violating Federal Aviation Regulations, which require following crew member instructions.

Bottom line

A man was kicked off an American Airlines flight after a pre-departure drink dispute. We don’t know what exactly happened leading up to this, other than another passenger confirming that he was acting aggressively.

The decision was made to remove the man from the flight, but he refused. That caused police to be called, and even then he refused to get off the plane, and insisted he hadn’t committed a crime (which is a moot point). Unfortunately for this person, the situation ended with him handcuffed on the ground crying.

Regardless of what leads to a situation like this, c’mon folks, don’t dig yourself a deeper hole. Refusing to get off a plane when the police is there never ends well (I mean, I suppose it ended with a substantial settlement for Dr. Dao, but aside from that…).

What do you make of this incident?