If another passengers assaults you onboard an airplane, do flight attendants have an obligation to intervene?
A story on Flyertalk sets up an interesting hypothetical.
The plane had landed and a passenger was standing in the aisle of row one, waiting to deplane. Another first class passenger grabbed the man’s shoulders and forcibly moved him aside in order to retrieve a bag from the overhead bin. The displaced passenger, let’s call him Jimmy, verbally protested. The offending passenger, let’s call him Bozo, unleashed a profane-laced verbal tirade against the protesting passenger, then reached into the overhead bin, yanked his bag out, and in doing so struck Jimmy on the head with it.
Remember, this was in row one. Two flights attendants allegedly watched the scene unfold. Jimmy called to the FAs for assistance but the FAs refused to help. They looked at each other then said there was nothing they could do. When Bozo heard the call for help, he warned Jimmy that he would be waiting outside the jet bridge. Again, the FAs just shrugged.
Bozo was indeed waiting for Jimmy, so Jimmy made a beeline for a gate agent and asked her to call the police. Upon hearing this, Bozo took off. Meanwhile, a supervisor showed up and asked to hear the story. She interrupted Jimmy before he could even finish, stating, “They have landing procedures they need to focus on when taxiing to the gate. They can’t keep an eye on everything going on during that process…it’s not their responsibility to get involved in these situations.”
So much for we are primarily here for your safety, thinks Jimmy.
The supervisor spoke with FAs, who denied seeing anything. Police arrived and took Jimmy’s statement, but he declined to press charges. The police did track down Bozo (he was connecting to another flight) and issued him a warning.
Jimmy later wrote back the airline (United) and received a note back stating that no one could corroborate his story.
The Issues
The story hits close to home because I encountered a similar incident on an SAS flight a number of years ago. On that flight, the passenger also threatened me and was “waiting for me” on the jetbridge. Like Jimmy, I did not seek confrontation.
There are a few issues to discuss concerning this incident, including the fact pattern and the law. First, why did Jimmy not press charges if the story transpired as described? Second, why would the FAs lie…are they that heartless? Third, why wouldn’t other passengers have come to Jimmy’s aid or at least whipped out their mobile phones? For that matter, why didn’t Jimmy start videoing Bozo and the FAs?
But I don’t think Jimmy is the one at fault here, even if he should have filed the report. I was so shaken up when I was assaulted that I just wanted to scram. Jimmy was also battered twice.
Let’s dig a little deeper though and talk about the airline’s duty of care in this incident. Airlines are considered common carriers and must exercise the “utmost” care and diligence with respect to their passengers. But when does an airline’s duty of care stop? When the plane lands? When the passengers disembark? Or perhaps when the passengers leave the baggage claim area? There’s no black and white answer and the common thread that would implicate carrier liability is negligence, or a failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another.
Here, the issue comes down to whether a FA’s duty of care extends to protecting one passenger from another when a plane is on the ground but before the aircraft door opens. You could make the argument either way, right? On the one hand, the passenger had nowhere else to go. No one was asking the FAs to jump in the middle of the fight, but they could have yelled at Bozo to back off. On the other hand, this incident had nothing to do with the safety of the flight itself. Why should FAs get involved in a disagreement between two passengers? The law is not clear.
My Thoughts
If the incident occurred as described, Jimmy was a victim of assault (placing someone in reasonable apprehension of physical danger) and battery (unwanted bodily contact). If FAs witnessed this, they should have at least backed up Jimmy’s account. Jimmy should have filed the police report. I admire him for not fighting back.
CONCLUSION
I really feel bad for Jimmy. While there are two sides to every story, the fact pattern is all too familiar to me. I see nasty passengers like Bozo all the time who push and shove when a plane lands as if they are the only ones wanting to quickly disembark. While revenge may feel sweet, you open yourself up to liability if you return an eye for eye and it is not in self-defense.
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“They have landing procedures they need to focus on when taxiing to the gate”
But this happened after taxiing to the gate, yes?
Correct.
I guess it’s understandable that those with tight connections feel the need to leap to their feet to be the first off the plane. But what’s the time saving…20 seconds, a minute? One suspects it’s more likely that they’re aggressive , pushy people with an ‘entitlement’to be first off. I prefer to remain seated until the rows in front start to clear. 99.99% of passengers are polite in allowing the plane to empty from the front, and permitting those ahead of them to get into the aisle.
This “Bozo” should have been arrested.
BTW, the link to your similar experience does NOT involve someone waiting for you in the jetbridge ( somewhat disappointingly) but rather someone complains about where you put a drink. You’ve embellished the story.
Two thoughts.
Jimmy was also seated in row one of first class, he did not rush up after the seatbelt light went off.
As for my story, it is true that the man was waiting for me on the jet bridge and stared me down. No words were exchanged. His wife or girlfriend pulled him back. Not sure why I didn’t write that eight years ago, but I remember it vividly.
The FAs probably assumed nothing would come from it and didn’t want to file the internal paperwork to back up Jimmy which would probably delay their next flight and require another set of paperwork.
This is just my opinion, but seems that the root issue is that the FAs had the chance to say lie and avoid a bunch of work and opted to take that path.
Was Jimmy in economy class and rushed up passed Bozo in 1st class trying to disembark first? I seen and got mad before as soon as the airplane docked, the economy class passingers already up inline to get off while the 1st class passingers not even get up to get their luggage yet.
In this case FA should move Jimmy back and let the 1st class passingers get off 1st.
Jimmy was seated in row one of first class.
I have no sympathy for Jimmy, there is nothing worse or more discourteous then the people sitting 5 rows back who feel they need to force their way up the front as soon the plane lands.
Jimmy didn’t do that: he was seated in row one.
While onboard an AA flight with aa 3 hour tarmac delay before takeoff my adult daughter was assaulted by a passenger. The story was something concerning her reclining. I verified that passengers were permitted to recline and reported this incident. AA cabin attendants seem to be trained to ignore such requests for help. A bit later I located the Cabin attendant in charge of the flight and insisted he involve police. At this point he intervened and made sure dangerous behavior ceased.
Jerks remain jerks and the same jerk started fighting with others near the UBER pick up point. It must be sad to be married to that Jerk.
This is why a police style body cam is needed. It is less confrontation than holding up your smartphone camera. Just clip it on your belt (if you’re a man) and push the record button. It records voice and video.
If I were in that situation, I would delay exiting the plane then leave with the FA’s or leave with a husky man who may have seen this and is willing to assist as an informal bodyguard.
Matthew, I will put on my former law enforcement hat:
My assumption is that the FAs suddenly had no recollection of the incident because they didn’t want to be on the other end of a subpoena, coupled with they didn’t want to have to deal with the police asking them for a statement.
You are right that Jimmy should have filed a report.
Interesting that the police did find Mr. Bozo and warn him. However, given the circumstances and assuming Jimmy had no visible injuries they had few other options. I don’t see enough probable cause to allow for a custodial arrest of suspect Bozo, but if Jimmy would have made a report he certainly could have attempted to convince a state’s attorney/prosecutor to file on Bozo.
However, assuming Bozo lives elsewhere, most prosecutors – absent a compelling witness – would not file as its a case of ” he said vs. he said, and serving Bozo with a warrant is unlikely and I doubt they would extradite on a simple battery.
An enterprising young detective might have taken the time to attempt to get a statement from the FAs, but I suspect they might hide behind their union – that’s not a criticism of them, I certainly understand their position.
A more effective sanction for Bozo would be for the airline to place him on the no-fly/refuse to sell him a ticket list due to his obnoxious behavior. That might subject them to litigation by Bozo, but they could deal with that for awhile, cost Bozo money to litigate and then fold after teaching him an expensive lesson.
Mike, thanks for your insightful comment.
Well there’s a simple explanation why Jimmy didn’t press charges. As he wrote: “I had a tight connection and was a bit less shaken by this point, so declined to press charges.”
From the information we have, it’s hard to tell whether pressing charges would have been worth missing his connection. But the short answer is “likely not”.
FAs are only on the job between the time when the door closes for takeoff and when it opens for deplaning after landing. Before the door closes and after it opens again, the FAs are off the clock are are merely volunteers if they assist passengers. While the door is open, the airport station agent is in charge the plane and everything that is happening inside the plane. So if some passenger conflict happens while the plane door is open, it’s outside the FAs (and Pilot’s) right to control, just like it’s outside every other passenger’s right to control. So if there is a fight between passengers while the door is open, it’s every person for themself until the police arrive.
Since those FAs have, as you mentioned, a duty-of-care, and “HERE FOR YOUR SAFETY”, I would think Bozo would have grounds to sue UA.
But you’re the lawyer, so I’ll defer to your judgement.
Jimmy has grounds to sue UA, rather.
That all sounds very unpleasant but if I were Jimmy I would have simply complained to the FAs and left it at that. Litigation is not the default proportionate response in this particular case. Really life is too short.
“…Second, why would the FAs lie…”
excuse me, but i never met an FA or an other kind of airline agent who does lie, did you?
all are lying, nonstop.