Category: AVIATION

A chaotic situation arose on a JetBlue flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Fort Lauderdale Airport in Florida. The passengers were on a tight schedule with their connections for an international flight to Quito, Ecuador. The flight attendants asked the other passengers to let those with the tight connections deplane first. At that point, dozens of passengers got out of their seats and began trying to get their bags from the overhead bins while the plane was in the air. Despite multiple attempts to get them to sit back down, the flight attendants became exasperated and threatened to call police once on the ground. The passengers began pushing their way out of the aircraft at the gate. In spite of all efforts, the passengers reportedly missed the connection.

An American Airlines passenger was kicked off a flight after getting angry and complaining about another person’s baggage in the overhead bin above his seat. Another passenger captured the confrontation between the man and a flight attendant and it was posted on social media. The man became irate, threatened to call the police on the flight attendant and the passenger was recorded being escorted off the plane with several bags. The identity of the passenger remains unknown, and no additional details were available.

A United Airlines pilot was caught on camera chopping down a parking gate with an ax. Pilot Kenneth H. Jones was filmed at the exit of an employee parking lot at Denver International Airport, chopping the gate numerous times before it falls off the stanchion. Jones was approached by airport employees, eventually giving up the ax. He was arrested and is due to appear in court at the end of September.

A 45-year-old man was arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) and other passengers on MH122 Airbus-A330 flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur were safely evacuated from a flight after the aircraft turned around and flew back to its departure point due to the man’s erratic behavior. The passenger on board a Malaysia Airlines flight began shouting at passengers, “Are you slaves of Allah?” The man, who says his name is Mohammed, called himself a “slave of Allah,” before challenging other passengers nearby to repeat that they are also “slaves of Allah.” The man pointed his finger at passengers, shouting, “Say it!” Another video clip shows the man kneeling in prayer after laying out his prayer mat in the aisle of the plane. A passenger on the flight said the man “unzipped his backpack, put his hands in, made barely veiled threats about having something dangerous in it screaming at the top of his lungs right next to my seat.” Members of the flight crew reportedly examined the bag and did not find anything suspect. The plane landed back in Sydney and was isolated at the end of a runway. “An emergency response plan was enacted and an evacuation was initiated once it was deemed safe for passengers and crew,” an AFP spokesman said. The captain of another aircraft at the airport told passengers their flight would be delayed a couple of hours. “He just announced the situation in Sydney just got worse and is a high risk security situation,” a story in the Daily Mail Australia said. A passenger on the Malaysia Airways flight tweeted, “Fire trucks all around. Fool that threatened staff must be blacklisted.” The plane was in the air about two hours when the Australian Federal Police (AFP) were called to meet the plane on arrival. “As a result of this afternoon’s incident, there have been 32 domestic flights cancelled (16 inbound plus 16 outbound), with delays of up to 90 minutes for other domestic flights,” a Sydney Airport spokesperson said. “Currently no international flight cancellations. Passengers are encouraged to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.”

A Caucasian mother who was suspected of trafficking her biracial daughter back in 2021 by Southwest Airlines employees has filed a racial discrimination suit against the company. Mary MacCarthy was traveling to Denver from Los Angeles with her 10-year-old daughter to attend her brother’s funeral according to an NBC News report nearly two years ago. Upon landing in Denver, MacCarthy and her daughter were confronted by police officers because a flight attendant suspected her of potential human trafficking. A federal lawsuit filed in August in the District Court of Colorado accuses Southwest Airlines of racial discrimination. MacCarthy says the airline staff flagged her as suspicious “based on a racist assumption about a mixedrace family.”

An investigation into how a bear escaped from its crate in the cargo hold of an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport was ordered by the Iraqi prime minister. Passengers became disgruntled over the delay. Iraqi Airways said in a statement that it was not to blame for the bear’s escape and that the aircraft’s crew had worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates to remove the bear. The UAE had reportedly dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane. A video made by the plane’s captain apologizes for the incident and delay because of the bear’s escape from its crate in the cargo hold.

A suspicious package resulted in the evacuation of a large part of the Fort Lauderdale Airport Sunday, August 6. Reports said the Terminal 1 check-in area was evacuated for a little over an hour while an investigation into a suspicious package was conducted. The airport’s social media account said there was an “ongoing security-related law enforcement investigation into a security-related incident,” and recommended travelers use a lower-level roadway at that time. The Broward Sheriff’s Office told a local news station that an “unattended bag caused the evacuation so the bomb squad could check out the luggage.” The issue was resolved and the airport returned to normal operations.

An American Airlines ramp worker stripped naked and did push-ups in baggage claim at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). In a video posted to Reddit, the man is shown walking through the baggage area while tossing each item of clothing that he had been wearing. Airport police and another airport employee subdued and arrested the man. The incident lasted about four minutes.

A man identifying as a comedian with Jammer TV named Jamie DeGeorge uploaded a 45-second video to TikTok, showing his interaction with a Southwest Airlines captain prior to a recent flight. The man was walking down the jet bridge and passed the captain. Here’s how the interaction goes: Passenger: “Are you the pilot of this flight?” Captain: “Yeah, what’s up?” Passenger: “You haven’t been drinking or anything, have you?” Captain: “You know what, that’s the stupidest f*cking thing you could say.” Passenger: “I’m joking around.” Captain: “No, I’m not joking.” Passenger: “It’s a joke, sir.” Captain: “No, I’m not joking, I can kick you off right now.” Passenger: “I’m joking, oh my God. You ever heard of a joke? I’m a comedian.” Captain: “Come here. All right. You don’t do that. And the reason is because that gentleman right there, and anyone else who is around, now doubts what I do for a living. I don’t go into your work and say sh*t. …” Passenger: “I’m very sorry I offended you. I understand.” Bottom line – this is not a subject to be joked about.

Emergency trucks swarmed a Delta Air Lines jet on the airport Wednesday evening, August 2, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A tweet by the Atlanta airport said, “Atlanta fire and airport emergency operations responded to an incident involving an aircraft on arrival this afternoon. The aircraft landed safety and passengers self-evacuated.”