American Airlines First Class Passenger Faces $82K Lawsuit For Her Intoxicated Conduct Onboard

Three years after attacking flight attendants and first class passengers in what was thought to be a drunken outburst on American Airlines, the troubled passenger now faces a lawsuit from the federal government seeking to collect nearly $82,000 for her poor behavior.

American Airlines Passenger Faces Federal Lawsuit For $82,000 After Multiple In-Flight Outbursts

I first wrote about this incident in July 2021. The assailant has been identified as 34-year-old Heather Wells. Here’s how the federal government describes what happened:

• On July 7, 2021, Wells was a first-class passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 1774 from Dallas – Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
• Over an hour into the flight, and after ordering a Jack Daniels (neat) during the beverage service, Wells became increasingly agitated and “wanted out” of the plane
• She left her seat and began moving and/or running toward the rear of the aircraft, before going to her knees in the aisle
• She remained there shortly, talking incoherently to passengers, before crawling back toward the main cabin
• When a flight attendant responded, Wells became verbally aggressive and told the flight attendant that she would “hurt him” if he didn’t get out of her way
• She then pushed the flight attendant aside and moved to the front of the aircraft
• When Wells reached the front of the aircraft, she lunged toward and attempted to grab the handle and to the front cabin door while the aircraft was in-flight, all the while screaming and yelling profanities
• This necessitated two flight attendants and a passenger to physically restrain her
• During this struggle, she struck a flight attendant in the head multiple times
• Ultimately, the flight attendants and passenger were able to restrain Wells with duct tape and flex cuffs and get her seated
• After she was seated, Wells continued to kick and spit and attempted to bite and head butt a flight attendant and passengers
• This necessitated Wells to be further restrained to her seat by tape, along with her mouth, but even this was ineffective to stop her from screaming and cursing throughout the remainder of the flight
• After consulting with the flight crew, the captain decided to continue to their destination CLT since they were closer to resolution by doing so, rather than diverting
• Law enforcement was alerted to be ready upon landing
• The captain had to make an announcement and the aircraft lavatories were locked
• Upon arrival while taxiing, Wells worked her feet free and was kicking violently
• This required yet another intervention by a flight attendant and passenger and more restraint
• Law enforcement boarded the aircraft and Wells was still aggressive and shouting
• It was decided for safety purposes to deplane all passengers before attempting to remove Wells
• Wells continued to violently kick and broke the seat in front of her
• Ultimately, Wells had to be sedated to be removed from the aircraft by law enforcement and medical responders

Wow…

As a result of her conduct, Wells was fined:

• $45,000 for 1) threatening, 2) hitting, and 3) spitting/attempting to kick/head butt flight crew and passengers
• $27,950 for attempting to open the cabin door in-flight
• $9,000 for interfering with the performance of crew member’s duties

Together, those total $81,950 (and are below statutory maximums).

You can read the full complaint here.

Since she refused to pay that fine, the federal government has sued in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Thus far, she has filed no defense for her actions…

> Read More: First Class Passenger Duct-Taped To Seat After Biting Flight Attendant

image: TikTok

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