An American Airlines passenger was caught vaping in the lavatory, and then proceeded to have a meltdown, attempting to flip the script, accusing the flight attendant of assault. What I find so strange about this interaction is that the poorly behaved passenger is the one circulating this video online, and is presenting himself as the victim.
Obnoxious American passenger caught vaping in lavatory
This incident happened on Monday, August 4, 2025, on flight AA2860 from Phoenix (PHX) to San Francisco (SFO). It involves Peter “Kobe” Nguyen, a self-proclaimed celebrity pickleball coach, agent, and AI expert. Everything we know about this incident is from the video footage that Nguyen posted online.
He was in the rear lavatory of the American Airbus A321, when the flight attendant reportedly forcibly opened the door, because Nguyen was vaping. Vaping onboard a plane is of course a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations.
Nguyen claims he “only took one puff.” First of all, it doesn’t matter how many puffs you take. Second of all, I have a hard time believing it was truly only one puff, especially given the dishonest claims he otherwise makes in the video.
Anyway, Nguyen filmed the entire interaction following the flight attendant opening the door. Shortly after the flight attendant opens the lavatory door, she notices he’s recording, and tries (unsuccessfully) to grab his phone, though there’s no evidence of the flight attendant having touched him. This is the point at which Nguyen loses it:
- “She just put her hands on me”
- “I have a lawyer… I am a lawyer, I am a lawyer!”
- “You do not put your hands on me, you do not put your hands on me, you do not put your hands on me!”
- “I have 25,000 followers, I have 25,000 followers that are going to watch this!”
- “I have it on video, so do you want me to release this, or do you want to say sorry to me right now?”
- “You do not get to touch a passenger, I was in the restroom, and you were opening the door!”
- “I’m actually going to call the police when I get back on the ground, on you!”
- “You assaulted me, she assaulted me, this flight attendant assaulted me, everybody!”
- “You are in so much trouble, you are in so much trouble, you know that? You’re in a lot of trouble…”
American released the following statement in response to this incident:
“A customer on American Airlines flight 2860 with service from Phoenix (PHX) to San Francisco (SFO) was removed from the aircraft upon arrival at SFO due to disruptive behavior. We thank our customers for their patience and apologize for any inconvenience.”
This passenger is ridiculous, totally out of line
Admittedly the flight attendant wasn’t acting her best. While recording employees violates American’s company policy, it’s not illegal, and she shouldn’t have reached for his phone. American should of course remind her that this isn’t an appropriate response to a situation like this. However, there’s not any proof based on the video that backs up his claim about the flight attendant touching him.
Beyond that, though, my goodness, this guy is just awful. For one, he lies about being a lawyer, and talks up how he has 25,000 followers. What a flex. It’s clear what’s going on, though — he knows he’s in trouble, so he’s trying to find any possible way to deflect and shift the topic of conversation to something else.
So when the flight attendants tries to grab his phone, he views that as the perfect opportunity to change the topic, threatening to call the police on her, and claiming she’s in so much trouble.
Bottom line
An American Airlines passenger was caught vaping in the lavatory. When the flight attendant confronted him about it, she noticed he was recording, and tried to grab his phone. This triggered quite the response, where the man accused her of assault, claimed he was a lawyer, explained he had 25,000 followers, and told her how much trouble she’s in, and that he’s going to call the cops.
Maybe this guy is in the “any publicity is good publicity” camp, but how pathetic that he’s sharing the video and presenting himself as the victim in all of this.
What do you make of this inflight vaping incident?
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