An angry woman was tackled and wrestled to the floor while approaching the flight deck on an American Airlines 787-9 jet traveling from Brazil to New York.
American Airlines Passenger Tackled After Rushing Cockpit On Delayed Flight
On Thursday, April 24, 2025, American Airlines flight 950, operated by a Boeing 787-9, pushed back from Sao Paulo (GRU) bound for New York (JFK). Due to runway congestion, takeoff was delayed by 30 minutes.
This seemed to exacerbate a woman traveling in business class, who took the unusual step of rising up and walking to the rear galley of the Dreamliner to complain. Whatever words were exchanged were harsh enough to get her thrown off, as the aircraft made a U-turn for the gate.
The U-turn made the woman even more upset and when she realized the U-turn was to offload her, she became livid. She saw a pilot coming out of the front galley and approached him to read him the riot act. At the time, the cockpit door was open.
A flight attendant tackled her and then pushed her back into the business class away from the cockpit. A companion or family member traveling in seat 1D can be seen yelling at the flight attendants not to use excessive force and yelling at the woman to shut up.
But it was too late…the woman, the man in 1D, and the entire party were removed.
As the woman stood in the business class cabin awaiting her ejection, she unleashed a tirade against the crew:
“You son of a b*tch, you’re disgusting, you can’t touch me, you don’t know who you’re talking to, you’re going to get f**ked. I went to ask why I was late and this a**hole threw me out!”
Not the way to endear yourself to a flight crew…
The return to the gate and paperwork involved ultimately led to a 2.5-hour delay.
My Thoughts
The mantra of approach the flight deck, get decked, strikes me as unnecessary…this whole incident strikes me as unnecessary. Not to defend the woman in any way, but I just don’t buy into the “better safe than sorry” defense when there are better ways to handle an irate customer.
Could she have been blocked without being thrown to the ground? How much de-escalation was employed before her takedown? Even the short video clip we have strikes me as an overreaction.
I have to wonder if the woman was intoxicated in some way, probably not with caipirinha, but maybe with a prescription drug or sleep aid? I have some empathy for her because who in their right mind would stand up while the aircraft was taxiing and go all the way to the back of the plane to complain?
Her poor language and erratic behavior justify her removal from the plane, but not necessarily the way in which it was done.
On the other hand, I acknowledge that I was not there and that in the heat of the moment, flight attendants do the best they can. When you see an angry woman rush for a cockpit, it’s understandable why you take no chances.
CONCLUSION
A woman was tackled and removed from an American Airlines flight on the ground in Sao Paulo after harshly criticizing the crew over a delay beyond their control and then approaching the cockpit to confront a pilot.
I’ll stop short of defending or condemning the crew, but approaching a flight deck door is still a serious deal, even 24 years after 9/11.
image: @aero_in / X
It’s quite possible that the FA is also hot tempered. Maybe the FA was thinking “you defy me and head to the cockpit, I will take you down!”
I once saw an Air New Zealand gate agent in Auckland, an ethnic Chinese that spoke with a NZ accent, being harshly scolded by an American man. She took it well and tried to calm the situation. I felt like patting her on the back but just sat there.
I have to disagree with you on this one Matthew.
The key element that made the use of force reasonable and appropriate is that the cockpit door was open.
The crew had a few seconds to assess that a woman was, by all appearances, attempting to access the cockpit by force. They didn’t know what her intentions were or if she had any weapons.
This was a righteous takedown.
Your point is well-taken and reasonable.
I’m not second guessing the actions taken nor do I have a problem with the way it was handled. But rushing the door while on the ground seems to have limited risk. It’s much ddifferent than doing it during flight.
+1 The FAFO queen tries to go charging into the cockpit and thinks everything is going to turn out peachy? Good luck with that.
Thanks, Greg. I agree and had to type less because of your reply.
Post 9/11 you go near the flight deck in a threatening manner especially as this one was open, you get tackled plain and simple. The nerve of the author to say the passenger being thrown to the ground was excessive.
Wouldn’t it be possilbe to block her without taking her down?
Not necessarily. Speaking as a retired Physician, when People become agitated, the adrenaline kicks in and makes them 2-3 times their normal strength. I’ve witnessed it in the clinical setting at Cedars. She could have easily overpowered the F/A with that additional adrenaline running through her. Plus it was unknown what, if any, substances the Offender had taken. And, who knows what behavior would have been manifested out of the man in 1D. If he went to her aide, no telling what would have happened. Add to this that the Cockpit door was opened. So, no Matthew, I defend the Crew and their actions. :/
She was aggressive, out of control and beyond de-escalation. The flight attendant supported her back while taking her down. I did not see a tackle.
As a crewmember and having worked flights from Brazil,they are a different type of passenger. I have had them get up and walk to the front of the aircraft as soon as the wheels touch down. They do not listen to the flight crews’ announcements.
If you look at the first seconds of the video, she was already partially through the cockpit door. That is still a breach. Flight crew will use any and all means necessary to keep anyone other than authorized personnel out of that cockpit. End of story.
Hindsight is always 20/20. If the aircraft was taxing, the engines were running. It could’ve been an entirely different outcome.
Whether you like it or not – stay away from the flight deck. This is not your private Gulfstream, nor are you in charge of the flight. If you don’t want to follow the rules- pony up and fly private. The crew is there to ensure the safety of all souls on board not just one entitled, irate passenger.
The crew did not want to be stuck in a delay either. Everybody wants to get going. Unfortunately, not everything is under their control.
Maybe the lady has dementia. But how about the guy with no socks. That’s gross
The reaction seems over the top to me.
Yeah, because the FA had minutes to decide what to do. Wait, I had it playing in super slow motion. You sound like the people who expect a police officer to arrive at a decision to fire in a split second as if they had a minute to consider alternatives.
She absolutely deserved to get decked. And more. If an air marshal had been onboard she would’ve been tasered at the very least.
At the airline I work for, we are now trained to use any means necessary to prevent a breach of the flight deck. Literally scalding hot coffee, wine bottles, service carts to the knee caps etc.
The passenger had obviously already demonstrated behavior worthy of a U-turn and removal from the flight, and was now even more pissed off. Then tried to breach an open cockpit while being belligerent. What if she had kicked the pilot in the balls, have him double over and strike his head? (Or any crew member). Would you have said the same had it been the big dude in 1D?