A tempest over a teacup occurred on a JetBlue flight to Costa Rica. 74-year-old Angela Siddell claims that a pair of flight attendants beat her up, leading to a black eye and handcuffs, all stemming from a disagreement over a half-consumed cup of tea. She is now suing the carrier.
Claim: JetBlue Flight Attendants Beat Up Senior Citizen Over A Tea Cup
Let’s take a look at the fact pattern, as told by plaintiff Siddell:
- The incident occured on October 31, 2023 on JetBlue 1691 from New York (JFK) to Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
- Siddell was celebrating her retirement and transition into becoming a “full-time grandmother”
- While Plaintiff was in the lavatory, JetBlue cabin flight attendants walked through the plane collecting trash from passengers
- The JetBlue cabin crewmembers did not collect the cup of tea that was on Siddell’s tray table
- Upon returning to her seat from the lavatory, Siddell collected the tea cup, which still contained tea, and stirring spoon, and brought them to the rear of the plane for disposal
- Siddell was unable to locate a trash receptacle in the rear galley and placed the tea cup and spoon on the countertop in the galley so that they could be disposed of by the JetBlue cabin crew
- Immediately upon returning to her seat, a female JetBlue cabin flight attendant confronted Siddell in an “unusually loud and verbally aggressive manner” and accused her of throwing the tea cup in the galley
- The flight attendant continued to speak over Siddell as she attempted to explain that she had placed her tea cup on the countertop because she was unable to locate a trash receptacle in the galley
- Based upon the flight attendant’s unusual aggressive and threatening conduct, Siddell decided to submit a written complaint to JetBlue and asked the crewmember for her JetBlue employee identification number
- The flight attendant refused to provide this information or any other info, like the name of the captain
- Siddell then asked for a complaint form (there is none) and then for a piece of a paper (there was none) before writing out her complaint on the back of an air sickness bag
- Siddell returned to the rear of the aircraft to get the name of the flight attendant, but she covered her name tag such that Sidell could not read it
- Suddenly, the female flight attendant grabbed Siddell’s wrist, while another JetBlue cabin flight attendant shoved her in the back “with great force,” pushing Plaintiff’s body into the female crewmember
- Siddell was shoved in the back again by the other JetBlue flight attendant causing her head to violently strike one of the aircraft’s rear exit doors
- Siddell was shoved from behind several more times by the flight attendant, causing her head to strike the exit door multiple times and causing “physical injuries, including a black eye, and bruises and swelling of the temple region and other areas” of her head
- Then a flight attendant grabbed Siddell arms, pulled them behind her body, and handcuffed her, placing her in the last row of the aircraft
- While Siddell was handcuffed, a male cabin crewmember physically applied pressure to Siddell’s torso causing her to have extreme difficulty breathing
- Siddell repeatedly complained that the handcuffs were too tight and were causing her great physical pain and injury, but flight attendants ignored her
- The flight diverted to Orlando (MCO)
- On the ground, police officers cut the handcuffs off Siddell and confirmed to her that the JetBlue cabin crewmembers “secured the handcuffs excessively tight”
You can read the complaint, filed in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York , here (.pdf).
Does this case pass the smell test? You do have to wonder whether how aggressive Siddell became in trying to read the flight attendant name tag during her second trip to the rear galley. Is her account plausible? Of course…we’ve seen many unhinged flight attendants over the years.
But did the story likely unfold as Siddell’s complaint suggests? My guess…and it’s just a guess…is that there are no fabrications in the complaint above, but there are probably some omissions. Specifically, I have to imagine Siddell was much more aggressive than simply asking for the flight attendant’s name or for a scrap of paper.
Ironically, Siddell is an ex-flight attendant herself. She also claims her husband is a retired airline captain. It’s quite telling to me that passengers are told to shut up and bear poor service because “flight attendants are primarily here for our safety,” but when an ex-flight attendant feels disrespected, she doesn’t take it…
CONCLUSION
A lawsuit levels an explosive claim against a pair of JetBlue flight attendants. While it is possible that such violence occurred and the flight diverted simply over the brouhaha stemming from a tea cup, I tend to think tempers on both sides were raised and lines were crossed. Hopefully JetBlue will weigh in with its side of events when it responds to Siddell’s complaint.
(Hat Tip: Paddle You Own Kanoo)
The late great Orioles manager Earl Weaver would say she needs to be more worried where her next prick is going to come from. Best post game show in baseball history.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QWQbN0jFo_k
Good for JetBlue! This old wind back story doesn’t make any sense. You can’t find a receptacle to place your trash in the galley, then you’re an idiot. Just hand it to somebody. The cabin crew comes by constantly to collect trash. Moreover, flight attendants are trained impeccably to deal with passengers who refused to follow crew orders. It just don’t really nilly throw somebody against the wall and handcuff them. As for the police statement that the handcuffs were too tight, that’s subjective. Welcome to the real world.
In the reported events, why would FA 1 bother to accuse a passenger about a tea cup in the galley. There was nothing productive in doing that. Even if the passenger was aggressive in getting an ID, it should not have required two FAs knocking down an elderly woman and diverting. Good sense seems to be absent in this narrative.
So this is the other side of Mint service you’ve never covered before.
JetBlack&Blue.
That’s funny….
An EX flight attendant can’t find the bin that says WASTE? Also an EX flight attendant knows she doesn’t even need the flight attendant’s name or the captain’s name. There are 4 flight attendants and 1 captain that work that flight she knows all she needs is the date and flight number and the airline can figure out who worked it. I smell a skunk!
New JetBlue movie:
“Throw Grandma from the Plain!!”
They’re not going to be an airline for much longer anyway.