Pilot’s Disturbing Christian Testimony On American Airlines Flight

By: Ben Schlappig

Updated: September 4, 2022
Published: August 5, 2021

73 comments

I hope that this guy gets the help he needs, but he most definitely shouldn’t be flying planes.

In this post:

Pilot overshares during post-flight PA

Video footage has emerged on Reddit of a pilot sharing his Christian testimony over the PA on an American Airlines flight. A few things to note upfront:

This happened on an American Airlines flight in June 2021 (I’m not sure why the video has only surfaced now)
It’s reported that this wasn’t actually one of the pilots flying the plane, but rather it was a pilot who was commuting or deadheading (meaning they were flying as a passenger); he may work for an American Airlines regional subsidiary
This seemed to happen upon landing, so it’s not entirely clear how he managed to grab the PA and prevent people from getting off the plane, and how the crew working the flight allowed this to go on for so long (I’m guessing they were just in shock)

In the nearly 3min30sec video, the guy can be heard talking about how (and I’m largely using his words here):

He was raped and molested as a young boy, and that he prayed to God to take away his sins and thoughts that resulted in homosexual tendencies
His life spiraled out of control, and he became a sexual addict and turned to pornography
He thought sexual thoughts about both men and women and started messing around with others who had similar tendencies
He started thinking of ways to end his life so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone else
He married a woman but couldn’t tell her about his pain and struggle with homosexuality
Over a year into the marriage be gave into the pressure of being gay, and he asked other gay crew members questions about their lifestyle and what led them to become gay
He then started taking part in that lifestyle, and would have sex with men and come home from work trips as if nothing happened
He wants to share the love of Christ with passengers, and if people feel uncomfortable that’s fine, but he said he’d be in the gate area for people who want to talk

I’m certainly no expert in Christianity, though I must have missed the “love of Christ” part of this?

You can watch the video here for yourself:

American Airlines Pilot is Clearly Unfit to Fly.
byu/TroutDaddy inamericanairlines

I hope this guy gets the help he needs

Obviously this guy has been through a lot, and is really struggling. It’s extremely sad to hear both his story, and how he’s thinking about things. I really hope he gets the help he needs. And perhaps part of that is accepting that it’s okay to be gay, and that being gay isn’t a “lifestyle” you can pray yourself out of, and his fellow colleagues weren’t “led” to being gay, they were just born that way.

Sad as the situation is, this guy also clearly isn’t fit to be in charge of so many peoples’ lives. Thinking that a plane is the correct venue for sharing this kind of stuff shows such a horrible lack of decent judgment, and decent judgment is supposed to be something that pilots have, given the responsibility they have.

Furthermore, beyond the mental concerns here, this was beyond unprofessional. No one should be subjected to having to hear this, how homosexuality is a choice, etc.

Bottom line

Video footage has emerged of a pilot sharing his Christian testimony shortly after an American Airlines plane landed at its destination. While he allegedly wasn’t one of the pilots flying the plane, it’s still disturbing that someone who does fly airliners would be in this kind of a mental state.

I hope that this guy gets the help he needs, because clearly he’s struggling…

(Tip of the hat to Live and Let’s Fly)

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Maggie Guest

January 9, 2022, 2:27 pm

This man is still struggling with his sexuality, to the point of being completely inappropriate and unprofessional. Desperation does this to us if we don't understand how our spirituality can lead us to acceptance of our humanity, self-love and service to others. I hope he gets the help he needs , possibly with the 12 Steps program, and that he will not be judged too harshly by his employer, but permitted the "time off" to do so.

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Rick Guest

August 11, 2021, 9:38 pm

Completely unprofessional. He should have his license revoked.

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Anthony Guest

August 8, 2021, 6:09 am

Pray for him, universal collective. Yes he needs help. Lets assist.

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William Guest

August 7, 2021, 2:38 am

I don't like the tone or characterisation of this pilots suffering. He was homosexually raped as a mere child and has suffered life changing post traumatic stress that continues to come up for him. That kind of rape can lead a confused sexual identity which is why child rape is such a serious crime. The fact that he turned to Christianity has been used to mock him or rather mock Christianity. This is a sad story and he is a victim of someone in a protected minority doesn't mean he should be mocked. I myself an an atheist but I can see this man needs help. An hypnotherapist that practices some psychotherapy might be able to help him break the thought patterns causing the PTSD and replace them with others that are healthy. I wish him well.

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Dan V Guest

August 6, 2021, 11:51 am

Let me be clear that I think the pilot was absolutely out of line for saying this into the PA. He likely made everybody extremely uncomfortable, sharing way too much detail for that context, not to mention ignoring the fact that he was representing a non-religious company. While Christians believe they are called to share their faith, this was not the way to do it. With that said, I would like to point out a bit of hypocrisy in the logic that he had no right to have the views he has. You said, Ben, that no one has the right to share his/her view that homosexuality is a choice. First of all, that is too broad of a brush. Most thoughtful, loving Christians I know would not claim that somebody just "chose" to be gay. They might, however, ask whether there were influences in her/her life (including genetic) that led him/her either to engage in homosexual behavior and/or embrace a homosexual identity. Whether or not that was the "right" thing to do is another matter for discussion, one which hinges on one's existential beliefs about God, humankind, and the supernatural, all of which cannot be proven nor disproven. But secondly, we must be careful not to fight perceived intolerance with more intolerance. What is the reasonable argument that the person who believes homosexuality is normal and acceptable is more (or less) entitled to share that opinion with others than the person who believes it is unacceptable? Note, I am certainly giving no permission whatsoever for either person to despise, disadvantage, embarrass, or otherwise harm anyone with whom he/she disagrees. I'm just pointing out that small-mindedness is a risk both sides need to be aware of.

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