A video showing an apparent confrontation between a passenger and an American Airlines flight attendant has resulted in that attendant being removed from duty, WFAA reported.
Surain Adyanthaya took the video Friday as Flight 591 prepared to leave San Francisco for Dallas, WFAA reported. In the 2-minute, 40-second video, a woman with her children can be heard crying. It is not clear what instigated the incident, Buzzfeed reported, but according to Adyanthaya's description a flight attendant "violently took a stroller from a lady with her baby on my flight, hitting her and just missing the baby."
As the video continues, a male passenger approaches the front of the plane where the attendant, mother, and other crew members are gathered. He asks for the flight attendant’s name and returns to his seat, WFAA reported.
Near the end of the video, the male passenger again walks to the front of the plane. He can be heard yelling to a male flight attendant, “Hey bud, hey bud, you do that to me and I’ll knock you flat.” At that point, the attendant became agitated and gestured to the passenger, telling him to “stay out of this,” WFAA reported.
The man approached the attendant and both began gesturing and arguing, according to the video. The captain and a female flight attendant attempt to calm the situation, WFAA reported.
"Hit me, come on hit me," the male attendant tells the passenger, adding that "you don't know what the story is."
The woman and her family were escorted off the plane and took another flight, Buzzfeed reported. The flight attendant remained on the original flight, the New York Post reported.
When the flight landed at 7:45 p.m. in Dallas, American Airlines issued a statement within 20 minutes, acknowledging that officials had seen the video in question.
"What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers," the airline said in a statement, adding that the passenger and her family were upgraded to first class for the remainder of their international trip. "The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.
"We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident," the airline said.
The incident comes less than two weeks after a passenger was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight. On April 9, Dr. David Dao was dragged off a United plane in Chicago after refusing to give up his seatto make room for crew members. The 69-year-old physician lost two teeth and suffered a broken nose and concussion during the incident.
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