Lately we’ve been reading all sorts of stories about poor passenger behavior related to masks or drunkenness. While somewhat concerning, neither really rise to the level of being scary. But a cryptic incident that took place earlier today on American Airlines rises to that level.
Scary: Cryptic Incident Onboard American Airlines
A man was detained at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) after his American Airlines flight, AA2392 from Orlando (MCO), arrived at 9:30am. Police initially said that the unidentified man tried to break into the flight deck area during the flight.
But the police later issued a correction noting he had not tried to physically gain access to the cockpit. So what happened? According to the police:
“The subject allegedly told one of the flight attendants that he wanted to speak with the pilot upon approach, approximately 80 miles out of PHL – and then subsequently ran back to his seat.”
Now I don’t know about you, but that’s a genuinely scary, unlike a sloshed passenger without a mask. The plane was descending and minutes from the airport. For what purpose would this man want to speak to the captain? And then you run back to your seat?
A male passenger and male flight attendant sat down next to the passenger until the aircraft landed. There was no further incident onboard the Airbus A321.
After being interviewed by police, the man was taken to a hospital for observation.
American Airlines confirmed that the man was “making alarming statements” and “exhibiting erratic behavior.” A spokesperson added:
“The cabin crew took precautionary measures and monitored the customer who remained seated for the remainder of the flight. Upon arrival at the gate, Philadelphia police met the aircraft and placed the individual in custody.”
CONCLUSION
A man who demands to speak to the captain as the plane is landing and then sprints back to his seat before a flight attendant can respond is going to get my heart racing. In fact, my heart races even just thinking about it. Perhaps I’m still part of the cursed 9/11 generation (remember, terrorism is more about instilling fear than actually inflicting physical harm), but this incident just does not sit well with me.
Would this man have raised your alarm bells or would you have brushed it off?
@ Matthew — Sounds like the guy just needs mental help. Was his name Donald?
He wanted to inspect the cargo area for illegal votes being shipped from urban counties in Florida to Philadelphia! lol
Let’s get that conspiracy theory going.
No, his name was Joe
Doesn’t sound like he committed a crime. It can be assumed that the flight attendant told him “no” and to return to his seat which he seemingly did without incident. It’s not illegal to be crazy. I’d lawyer up if I were him.
What a waste of a minute that was.
I’ve instructed our refunds department to issue you a refund immediately.
LOL
I see nothing wrong with this. I work with a lot of strange people. He didn’t say anything explicit, or anything like that.
He shouldn’t have been placed into custody.
Perhaps not, but asking that question and running does not sit well with me.
“that’s a genuinely scary, unlike a sloshed passenger without a mask”
You don’t think a drunken passenger with no mask is “a genuinely scary”? Personally, I’d be more worried about that.
Perhaps, but I’m not so bothered by masks or drunks.
Well, we turned ourselves in a bunch of snowflakes. Anything you say, any way you act, etc… it raises concerns, suspicions, etc… Yes, the guy is a bit weird but this is nothing very scary. The world is indeed very boring nowadays.
Gotta admit, Matthew, as much as I respect you, your title in comparison to the actual story was a bit of, well, a yawn. Not even a story. But since you mentioned issuing refunds? 🙂
That bad? Ok, I can take it from you.
@Matthew, I have to agree with the others that the title and the story are horribly mismatched. I think one of your sub-headings would’ve been far more appropriate for the title: “Cryptic Incident Onboard American Airlines.” Perhaps “Strange” or “Questionable” would’ve worked as well.
I was expecting something genuinely scary, like a hijacking attempt, near-miss, dual engine flameout, etc.
You rarely have click-bait titles/posts, but unfortunately, this one came across as one. On the plus side, this probably filled your quota for the next year or two. ;-p
Well-noted Tennen.
I was on that flight – It was a distinguished older white guy, and he didn’t say he wanted to talk to the pilot, he said he wanted to sniff the pilots hair. Then he forgot why he was standing there and ran back to his seat. This was PHL, so the former VP was released on his own recognizance.
Simple mistake, nothing to see here, move along…
The story has nothing to do with the title, which is overdramatic.
Harmless nut case…. Case closed.