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Home  >  American Airlines  >  American Airlines Flight Attendant Strikes Passenger On Head With Coffee Pot Who Tried To Breach Cockpit Mid-Flight
American Airlines

American Airlines Flight Attendant Strikes Passenger On Head With Coffee Pot Who Tried To Breach Cockpit Mid-Flight

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 14, 2022February 14, 2022 19 Comments

I love coffee more than most…but I prefer not to be struck on the head with a coffee pot! One passenger, however, received a blow on the head with a coffee pot by a flight attendant after he tried to open the emergency exit and cockpit doors in the middle of an American Airlines flight to Washington, DC.

American Airlines Flight Attendant Strikes Erratic Passenger On Head With Coffee Pot After He Tries To Breach Cockpit

An “erratic” passenger attempted to open the emergency exit door followed by the flight deck door a few hours into American Airlines flight 1775, an Airbus A321 from Los Angeles (LAX) to Washington National (DCA) on Sunday. Passengers and the crew rushed to subdue the man.

A flight attendant struck him in the head with a coffee pot, drawing blood, while passengers held him tight. The flight then diverted to Kansas City (MCI).

Mouaz Moustafa, a passenger onboard, explained:

“A flight attendant ran to the back of the plane and got the coffee pot and continues to bash the guy on the head…I honestly thought today I might die.”

After the incident, the pilots began a rapid descent, which caused an additional scare in the cabin as many passengers were not aware of what was going on and felt the plane going into a “free fall.” The captain justified the rapid descent and diversion over the PA system:

“He’s trying to get into the cockpit …We’ve got four passengers now trying to contain this gentleman.”

In Kansas City, police boarded the aircraft and removed the disruptive passenger. The FBI is now handling the investigation:

Statement regarding a diverted flight to @KCIAirport earlier today, from FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub. pic.twitter.com/ql5cQRpbZM

— FBI Kansas City (@FBIKansasCity) February 13, 2022

There are pictures and video:

passengers held the individual and a flight attendant used a coffee pot to subdue him as the plane descended rapidly. the man was bleeding as the police in this video are taking him off the flight after landing in Kansas #AA1775 pic.twitter.com/HL2JnyYglw

— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022

Police have boarded flight #AA1775 from #LA to #DC which made an emergency and rapid landing in Kansas. Flight descended at 5000 fps. It felt like the plane was free falling and many feared the worst because people weren’t fully aware of what was unfolding pic.twitter.com/qyDHSrdUqF

— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022

The FBI have boarded flight #AA1775 and are going through the scene after a flight attendant used a coffee pot to strike a middle aged man multiple times who was attempting to open the plane door. pic.twitter.com/L7FYeedzuD

— Mouaz Moustafa (@SoccerMouaz) February 13, 2022

Very scary! I was watching Dune. The lights were out. All of the sudden lights came on and several men stood up to rush to first class. I didn’t see the fight just the reaction of the men. I knew immediately something was wrong

— Karen Maria Alston (@advertisingdiva) February 13, 2022

Ya I was getting up to go to the bathroom and the flight attendant running full speed down the aisle and yelling to turn the lights on was slightly unnerving. Then the plane making a hard turn left and speeding up within a couple mins of that def told me something was happening.

— Jake Smith (@jakesmith2613) February 13, 2022

However, there are still several questions outstanding:

  • What fueled this incident?
  • Was there coffee in the pot? (the pain of a coffee pot is one thing – scalding coffee is whole different degree of pain)
  • Did the emergency exit window break?

I’ve reached out to American Airlines and will update this post if I hear back.

CONCLUSION

An American Airlines flight diverted yesterday after a passenger onboard tried to enter the cockpit. Passengers subdued him with a flight attendant striking him in the head with a coffee pot. While the motive is not clear, the man is now under FBI custody.

(top image: Mouaz Moustafa // H/T: View From The Wing)

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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19 Comments

  1. JoeMart Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 10:07 am

    Finally,the real reason AA keeps hot liquids pretending to be coffee is revealed.

  2. Stuart Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 10:23 am

    Personally I would have used the rock hard Turkey Pastrami sandwich. Those pretzel rolls are deadly weapons. Just the sight of it might have brought him to his knees.

  3. dfw88 Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 11:36 am

    There aren’t very many justifiable reasons to hit someone on the head with a coffee pot… but this may have been one of them.

  4. pelican55 Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 11:42 am

    better yet… get the water fire extinguisher, which is very very, and slam it hard on this back… that will definitely cause some serious injury too the spinal cord. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my cabin and safety of the flight.

  5. ChuckMO Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 12:02 pm

    So was the FA male, female or undecided?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 14, 2022 at 12:53 pm

      Not clear.

  6. PM Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 2:15 pm

    I am loving the title of this post, I have never seen a coffee pot trying to breach a door!

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 14, 2022 at 2:19 pm

      Hilarious

  7. Cam Agnew Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 4:03 pm

    Good for the Crew member to take proactive action and the help of fellow passengers. So many mental cases flying anymore.

  8. Desertfox Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 5:08 pm

    The bigger question as far as the airline is concerned is – was he wearing mask?! (Sarc)

  9. DC not in DC Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 5:19 pm

    All pax should be reimbursed for being forced to land at MCI.

    • dfw88 Reply
      February 14, 2022 at 5:23 pm

      Fair point, but only if they had to get off the plane! I flew through MCI the other day for the first time in years and that airport is a serious dump.

    • Tony Reply
      February 14, 2022 at 5:33 pm

      its hardly the airline’s fault there was a psycho trying to kill all of them but usually in cases like this the airlines send out some kind of compensation.

  10. Josh Reply
    February 14, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    Am I correct that it would not actually be possible to open the emergency exit door in flight? And that the cockpit door is reinforced and cannot be forced open?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 14, 2022 at 8:40 pm

      Correct on both accounts. Still unsettling to have a guy going crazy in a confined metal tube.

  11. Nikki Reply
    February 15, 2022 at 1:08 am

    This was written like the flight attendant is the bad guy. You have a problem with roughing up somebody they couldn’t stop and potentially could have harmed way more than themselves?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 15, 2022 at 1:09 am

      You’re not incorrect. I applaud the FA in this case.

  12. PolishKnight Reply
    February 15, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    Haven’t delved into this specific case, but I personally would have handled this with aplomb and went back to watching Dune after first checking what all the hubbub was about. The Emergency and cockpit door can’t be opened mid-flight and by the time any flight descent is carried out, whatever has happened will have happened.

    That being said, sometimes such erratic behavior may be a diversionary tactic for someone else to do harm and it would have been better to get on the PA and ask the passengers to look for anything strange happening around them.

    It’s strange how we react differently in situations. Something like this would have me behaving in a heightened, but calm manner but my wife moves some of my papers around on my desk to “organize” them and I totally lose it.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 15, 2022 at 4:46 pm

      Did you like Dune? I recently watched it on United and quite enjoyed it.

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