I’m not sure how I missed it, but an onboard brawl on Spirit Airlines that eventually required the use of an electroshock weapon (stun gun) to break up reminds us of the peril of trying to be peacemakers in the midst of conflict. It also serves as a reminder that videos can be misleading.
Police Use Stun Gun After Nasty Brawl On Spirit Airlines
Our video begins with Nyasy Veronique Payne screaming at a passenger in a white shirt. She’s wearing a mask…around her chin. The initial argument with another passenger was allegedly over her failure to wear her mask correctly. When an airline worker tried to intervene by restraining Payne, she punched the airline worker.
Payne then tried to leap over others who were standing between her and the man in white.
So what led to this? Was this simply another in our long list of onboard mask breakdowns? Police arrested the woman. In fact, they blamed her for the incident and jailed her. Bail was eventually set at $150,000. Watch:
Caught on Camera: A fight over whether or not to wear a mask onboard a Spirit Airlines plane that had just arrived in Puerto Rico led to a woman – who police say was the aggressor – being tased by police who are considering filing charges.
pic.twitter.com/2iJeNl12Pn— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) October 27, 2020
Yet further digging suggested the issue was about more than Payne’s mask.
CBS News reporter David Begnaud spoke to several passengers onboard and later put the incident in a bit more context:
Not long after I posted this video, I spoke to Alfredo, a man who is seen in the video wearing a purple shirt. He is Puerto Rican. He said there’s more to the story.
Alfredo says the woman seen on video throwing punches, was punched by 1 man before she punched anyone.— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) October 27, 2020
Begnaud reported the man in the white shirt had also not been wearing a mask and had roamed the aircraft, in defiance of flight attendants, during the flight while the seat belt light was on. This same man apparently began yelling racial slurs toward three black women onboard, including Payne.
Does that justify Payne’s behavior? Absolutely not. Does it put it in a bit more context? Certainly.
CONCLUSION
There’s always two sides to every story and the “truth” has not become clearer even though this story is now a week old. Spirit Airlines has also refused to comment.
Whatever led up to the video above, it was one of the nastiest brawls I have ever seen onboard an aircraft. It serves as another important reminder that though we should all strive to be peacemakers, sometimes it is best just to step aside. The Spirit Airlines employee did not deserve to be punched…that much is crystal clear. It’s also a reminder that context doesn’t excuse poor behavior, but certainly may help to explain it.
(H/T: @conratravel)
Welcome to Puerto Rico. When you have a sewer filled with rats, and you try to decide which rat was right and which rat was wrong, you have “Live and Let’s Fly”. Anything for clickbait. That’s the world we have descended into. If you can’t add anything useful to the state of the world today, broadcast a rat fight and pretend to be the moderator. Maybe you should try your hand at coffee shop reviews. Then you can spend weeks on whether or not Starbucks should cater the homeless. I think you would be more comfortable there. Your blog has turned into a rat fight. Trump vs, Biden. Liberal vs. conservative. Left vs. right. Doesn’t have shit to do with flying, but it sure does generate comments. That’s the goal, right? God bless.
Lol at the cameraman, bless his heart. Wears a mask but pulls it down to talk. That’s like wearing a condom but taking it off for the finale.
LOL!
Just something to think about when you see these stupid folk not wearing masks on their flight to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Ricans have the highest asthma rates in the world, with the disease affecting about 14% of Puerto Ricans at some point in their lives. This fact elevates risk of death from Covid-19 in the Puerto Rican population.
Assuming you would say the same of the Trump Superspreading Rallies?
Perfect application of the stun gun by authorities. It quickly subdued her and calmed the incident, allowing them to (hopefully) sort out the combatants. And, no injury to the lady.
I see a small child in the early part of the video. Hate to see a small child exposed to this behavior.
I wasn’t on the flight but I heard from someone who was what actually started the fight. Apparently someone tried to steal a half-eaten Giordano’s that a connecting passenger brought with him from ORD.
People should realize that there is a huge potential outflow of coronavirus during a fight. Yelling, heavy breathing, masks dislodged, physical contact, etc. This is one of the hazards of travel. Therefore, non-essential travel should be carefully considered before doing it.
As far as breaking up a fight, you must have superior strength. Otherwise, the two people fighting might have a ceasefire and both attack you. This has happened many times. So 3 people can help break up a fight between 2 people but one person acting as the peacemaker alone is dangerous.
not surprised. the most aggressive people in the video are black.
What is that supposed to mean?
Just another racist/white nationalist on your blog Matthew. They are pretty easy to spot these days.
Yes, and the MOST AND ONLY aggressive disrupt, ignorant, RACIST in DC the Capitol were WHITE. PEOPLE were KILLED in DC. YOU GOT NERVE R A C I S T!!!!!!!