Plane Passenger Shoves Pilot in Terminal

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over50

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over50
I remember the days when being an airline pilot commanded a certain amount of respect and admiration from the flying public. And then I woke up and it was 2017. You got to admire this pilot for having enough self-control to resist the fight this passenger was apparently looking for.

 
Well he was an American Airlines pilot. Could be that he was a self righteous, isle blocking douche bag. Doesn't justify the passengers actions if true but could explain what happened on camera
 
Too bad that pilot didn't use the "Passenger Ejection Handle" while up at cruise. :rolleyes:

Unfortunately, things will only get uglier before they get any better. Terrible stuff!
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Well he was an American Airlines pilot. Could be that he was a self righteous, isle blocking douche bag. Doesn't justify the passengers actions if true but could explain what happened on camera
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Passenger obviously had enough free time that he could follow the dude around and start a fight with him, so 60 seconds waiting on the aisle in the aircraft doesn't seem like any big deal.

Sorry, I'm going with passenger == bigger douchebag than pilot here.
 
over50 said:
I remember the days when being an airline pilot commanded a certain amount of respect and admiration from the flying public. And then I woke up and it was 2017. You got to admire this pilot for having enough self-control to resist the fight this passenger was apparently looking for.
that was back in the day when flying commercial was generally thought of as glamorous and limited to those well off enough to afford it. nowadays as my buddy who used to fly weekly for work puts it..."the planes are now full of 'Clampetts'...all that's missing are crates of chickens." it's rare when I fly commercial but on the few occasions the cabin has generally quiet and well behaved. as for blocking the aisle...again on the few times I've flown commercial blocking the aisle seems inevitable. they load by rows/sections...why not unload the same way? you're gonna wait one way or the other so why not sit and be comfy?
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T
denverpilot said:
Passenger obviously had enough free time that he could follow the dude around and start a fight with him, so 60 seconds waiting on the aisle in the aircraft doesn't seem like any big deal.

Sorry, I'm going with passenger == bigger douchebag than pilot here.
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The only douchebaggery I saw was from the pax. The way he was running around trying to play "gotcha" with his phone makes me think he was really fun to sit next to on that flight.
 
Glad the pilot walked away. I'm not sure I would have had the same amount of restraint in that situation, but nothing good could come from striking back at the passenger.

As far as the pilot acting like a douche earlier - he could have been, who knows? Every company in every industry has its share - pilots are no different.
 
What an *******. There's no excuse for it, especially "isle blocking" ... pilot should press charges and American should ban him for life
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Well he was an American Airlines pilot. Could be that he was a self righteous, isle blocking douche bag. Doesn't justify the passengers actions if true but could explain what happened on camera
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If you can't show more respect than that for a professional pilot please turn in your certificate of humanity. You have a very poor attitude.
 
kayoh190 said:
Glad the pilot walked away. I'm not sure I would have had the same amount of restraint in that situation, but nothing good could come from striking back at the passenger.

As far as the pilot acting like a douche earlier - he could have been, who knows? Every company in every industry has its share - pilots are no different.
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Swift roll of the Luggage Works bag into his shins would have done some damage.
 
IMG_0488.JPG Time for the 'self defense stance'. I may have to bring my dog on the next trip, she doesn't like strangers or fighting.

Yes, she gives me 'comfort' too.
 
citizen5000 said:
This is a clear case of assault.
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Maybe so. Unless the swatting of the cell phone would complicate such a charge. (Not that I would blame the pilot.)

The perp needs to do five years in prison.
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Five years sounds like a manslaughter sentence.

If this was simple assault, it would be limited to something a lot less.
 
over50 said:
I remember the days when being an airline pilot commanded a certain amount of respect and admiration from the flying public. And then I woke up and it was 2017. You got to admire this pilot for having enough self-control to resist the fight this passenger was apparently looking for.

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I like how the what appears to be TSA agent in the top left just stands there and watches
 
Rebel Lord said:
I like how the what appears to be TSA agent in the top left just stands there and watches
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I saw that, too. looks like some sort of ID hanging around his neck but he also appears to be wearing a backpack. on second viewing I thought he might've been another passenger.
 
NoHeat said:
Maybe so. Unless the swatting of the cell phone would complicate such a charge. (Not that I would blame the pilot.)



Five years sounds like a manslaughter sentence.

If this was simple assault, it would be limited to something a lot less.
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Looks like mutual combat to me. What right did the pilot have to shove the passenger away?
 
Lindberg said:
Looks like mutual combat to me. What right did the pilot have to shove the passenger away?
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tell ya what...i'll dog your trail and stick a cell phone into your face and we'll see how you react. even if that was impermissible it doesn't justify the response by the crazed passenger.
 
Lindberg said:
Looks like mutual combat to me. What right did the pilot have to shove the passenger away?
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Self defense. Don't want an attacker to remain within an arms length at any time. That's a good way to get cold cocked. A little "back off" push is mild. Anyone with real training would have hooked his foot while pushing. Put him on the floor and then he can have his little chat from down there about whatever his **** ant little life problems are that had him following someone through an airport to start the altercation.
 
rk911 said:
I saw that, too. looks like some sort of ID hanging around his neck but he also appears to be wearing a backpack. on second viewing I thought he might've been another passenger.
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Might have been TSA, but they usually only concern themselves with making sure you aren't carrying a water bottle through security. Might have been a janitor.

KCI terminals rarely seem have security inside. Most of the time they stay outside to make sure you don't park more than a few seconds when picking up or dropping off pax.

The video shows them coming off the plane, into the secure area. There are TSA folks inside and at each exit point. At KCI it's a very, very short walk to get out of security. Once you exit, it's another few steps to the outside. The video shows the tiled floor. That's how far it is from security, ticketing, and baggage claim to the outside. I rarely see security in that area.
 
denverpilot said:
Self defense. Don't want an attacker to remain within an arms length at any time. That's a good way to get cold cocked. A little "back off" push is mild. Anyone with real training would have hooked his foot while pushing. Put him on the floor and then he can have his little chat from down there about whatever his **** ant little life problems are that had him following someone through an airport to start the altercation.
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Very true. Many ways to defend against this assault. An easy legal defense, I think, for the pilot since he was stalked through the airport. Somebody followed him and then was aggressive = assault.
 
Additional info on this story. It sounds like the passenger got off easy. From KMBC News:
The pilot initially declined to prosecute, according to the police report. But, the pilot did come back to the airport the following day to be interviewed by KCI Airport Police detectives, McBride said. Kansas City Municipal court documents show Foster was cited two days after the incident for intentionally inflicting bodily injury, a municipal violation. The documents say the pilot had lacerations to both legs, and bruising on his forearm. After the shoving incident, video shows Foster following the pilot out to his vehicle, where the pilot's wife was waiting in a vehicle, according to the police report. The report also says Foster told police he wanted to take a picture of the vehicle's license plate.
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citizen5000 said:
This is a clear case of assault. The perp needs to do five years in prison.
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Since the pilot intentially knocked the phone from the other suspects hand, who was only trying to take a photo, the pilot should be charged with criminal damaging.
 
Clark1961 said:
No joking. Photos in a public area are permitted.
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But, Mr Douchebag passenger was just a wee bit too aggressive in the way he went about it; I'd have been tempted to swat it away as well. Get the fukc away from me and out of my personal space. In looking at the video, charging the pilot with "criminal damaging" would be the height of stupidity. But hey, people are stupid these days and getting worse.
 
denverpilot said:
Self defense. Don't want an attacker to remain within an arms length at any time. That's a good way to get cold cocked. A little "back off" push is mild. Anyone with real training would have hooked his foot while pushing. Put him on the floor and then he can have his little chat from down there about whatever his **** ant little life problems are that had him following someone through an airport to start the altercation.
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You don't get to physically defend yourself from someone taking your picture. Whatever the pilot was doing on the plane, he sure didn't want it getting back to the company. I've never seen an airline employee try to hide his name tag.
 
Clip4 said:
Since the pilot intentially knocked the phone from the other suspects hand, who was only trying to take a photo, the pilot should be charged with criminal damaging.
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People have this misunderstanding that there's legal immunity so long as you're not the first person to make physical contact.

If you provoke someone, baiting them into touching you in order to argue "they hit first" in order to fight the person, under some preconception of legal immunity for you as the "one who got hit first", you'd be mistaken. Provocation is illegal too. Understand the person could use your provocation as an affirmative defense against the assault charge against them. IOW, baiting people into a fight is not a legal freebie for the heckler. That's a common misconception often seen in public confrontations. Some courts have even determined that asking someone to "meet you outside and settle this score" is akin to giving consent to the assault in certain instances, under said provocation standard. So I'd be very careful in getting on people's faces trying to bait them into a "first contact" game. As the instigator you might get your claim of self-defense get shoved up your rear legally, and literally too. The escalation seen in this video is one example where the guy "making contact first" very well would be on the winning side of the adjudication of the assault charge.
 
Lindberg said:
You don't get to physically defend yourself from someone taking your picture. Whatever the pilot was doing on the plane, he sure didn't want it getting back to the company. I've never seen an airline employee try to hide his name tag.
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He figured whatever it was was over, clear back on the plane.

Don't know what the rules are, but I'd say he was off duty by the time he was on his way out the door. And definitely didn't need a badge on in the non-secured area.

Unfortunately he was stuck in that uber high quality polyester zoot suit and was followed by a psycho to his car.

Anyway... You know what the pilot probably did?

Probably told psycho phone boy to keep his britches on and wait 60 seconds for someone else instead of stampeding like cattle down the aircraft aisle.

Maybe told him to sit his ass down while the aircraft was still moving.

I'd bet twenty bucks on it.

In the video, phone stalker boy is right behind the pilot deplaning. He could have asked him to identify himself at any time. Ot asked him questions.

He decided after they'd already walked off the plane that he was butthurt and then chose the brilliant plan of stalking with his smartphone out as his adult method of conflict resolution. LOL. He wanted an ambush.

Another twit looking for drama and a payday.

Phone boy's phone being launched was the funniest part of the entire confrontation really.

"I'm videoooooing you...." Slap. Clink.

And...? LOL.

The hissy that phone boy threw right after that was even funnier.

Really should have hooked a foot and put him on the floor with his own momentum, though. Opportunity missed for an even funnier video.

Not that he knew it was being recorded, but still.

Dude just wanted to go home and had to deal with the moron twice. Putting him on the floor would have meant paperwork and ******** and media and lord only knows what in the butthurt entitled drama queen world of today.

"The mean old pilot told me to sit my dumb ass down and shut up, mommy! Can you rub some salve on my anus?"

I'm going to bet the pilot didn't press charges, mostly as there'd be no point in ever seeing the idiot again. Then he'd have to deal with him a third time.

It's now the era of Airline CEOs undermining the authority of their own crews to control people on their own aircraft...

Yeah, I'd slap the phone and walk briskly away, too. Probably try to launch it far enough that psycho phone boy would would have to go a long way the other direction to go get it.

Fetch. Good boy. Here's a treat.
 
Is taking photos with a phone a new way of expressing rage?

I experienced that myself recently, in an incident of road rage. I stayed put when my light turned green, due to an oncoming ambulance. Road-Rage-Roger, who was right behind me, emitted loud honks, and when that did not cause me to move, he then took photos of my plate as step 2 of his rage, followed by step 3 which was an abortive attempt to approach my car on foot and finally in step 4 an exhibit of reckless driving once we did start moving.

In this airport incident it looks like photo-taking occupied a similar step, in an escalating display of rage.
 
Norman said:
If you can't show more respect than that for a professional pilot please turn in your certificate of humanity. You have a very poor attitude.
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Umm yeah. ..... so I was joking. About the guy being a dick .... because he works at American.

I'll be sure to keep that "humanity certificate " handy just in case though.
 
So all of you guys arguing about taking pictures in a public space being legal are correct. However I would caution you against ever trying to prove that theory in the manner this passenger did. Running someone down after a verbal altercation, blocking their path of exit to get away from you and then sticking your phone in their face ....literally inches away from their body is not a right. That is assault.
 
NoHeat said:
Is taking photos with a phone a new way of expressing rage?

I experienced that myself recently, in an incident of road rage. I stayed put when my light turned green, due to an oncoming ambulance. Road-Rage-Roger, who was right behind me, emitted loud honks, and when that did not cause me to move, he then took photos of my plate as step 2 of his rage, followed by step 3 which was an abortive attempt to approach my car on foot and finally in step 4 an exhibit of reckless driving once we did start moving.

In this airport incident it looks like photo-taking occupied a similar step, in an escalating display of rage.
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I have noticed the same behavior. I think it's a general indicator of entitled pricks trying to bully people. They are so convinced in the absolute knowledge that someone is wrong they want pictures to prove to everyone else how they were right and you were wrong. Even worse they might want them as evidence to support their version of things after an altercation. It's just plain stupidity.
 
denverpilot said:
He figured whatever it was was over, clear back on the plane.

Don't know what the rules are, but I'd say he was off duty by the time he was on his way out the door. And definitely didn't need a badge on in the non-secured area.

Unfortunately he was stuck in that uber high quality polyester zoot suit and was followed by a psycho to his car.

Anyway... You know what the pilot probably did?

Probably told psycho phone boy to keep his britches on and wait 60 seconds for someone else instead of stampeding like cattle down the aircraft aisle.

Maybe told him to sit his ass down while the aircraft was still moving.

I'd bet twenty bucks on it.

In the video, phone stalker boy is right behind the pilot deplaning. He could have asked him to identify himself at any time. Ot asked him questions.

He decided after they'd already walked off the plane that he was butthurt and then chose the brilliant plan of stalking with his smartphone out as his adult method of conflict resolution. LOL. He wanted an ambush.

Another twit looking for drama and a payday.

Phone boy's phone being launched was the funniest part of the entire confrontation really.

"I'm videoooooing you...." Slap. Clink.

And...? LOL.

The hissy that phone boy threw right after that was even funnier.

Really should have hooked a foot and put him on the floor with his own momentum, though. Opportunity missed for an even funnier video.

Not that he knew it was being recorded, but still.

Dude just wanted to go home and had to deal with the moron twice. Putting him on the floor would have meant paperwork and ******** and media and lord only knows what in the butthurt entitled drama queen world of today.

"The mean old pilot told me to sit my dumb ass down and shut up, mommy! Can you rub some salve on my anus?"

I'm going to bet the pilot didn't press charges, mostly as there'd be no point in ever seeing the idiot again. Then he'd have to deal with him a third time.

It's now the era of Airline CEOs undermining the authority of their own crews to control people on their own aircraft...

Yeah, I'd slap the phone and walk briskly away, too. Probably try to launch it far enough that psycho phone boy would would have to go a long way the other direction to go get it.

Fetch. Good boy. Here's a treat.
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IMG_2719.JPG
 
Clip4 said:
Since the pilot intentially knocked the phone from the other suspects hand, who was only trying to take a photo, the pilot should be charged with criminal damaging.
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Hmm, how can I make a comment about that post without drawing the ire of the MC?
 
paflyer said:
Hmm, how can I make a comment about that post without drawing the ire of the MC?
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I'm still trying to figure out what "criminal damaging" is. LOL.

It's a phone. If you shove it in my face after chasing me around a building, and you're dumb enough to put it within my reach, it's probably going for a little "flight test".

Phone boy had plenty of opportunities to extricate himself from his newfound problem: someone who didn't GAF about his gadget or the camera on it.
 
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