A livid American Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Doug Parker, took to social medial to lambast the latest passenger to assault a flight attendant.
"On Wednesday evening we had one of the worst displays of unruly behavior we've ever witnessed when a passenger violently, physically assaulted an American Airlines flight attendant." he said in an Instagram video.
The attack happened on flight 976, a cross-country route that began at New York's JFK Airport and was to land at the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana California. Instead, the pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in Denver where the flight attendant was taken to the hospital and one man was detained. The FBI confirms it is part of an ongoing investigation, but in a statement says "No arrests have been made at this time."
"This was a random incident. This was a flight attendant walking up the aisle, accidentally bumping a passenger and receiving punches to the head, resulting in broken bones to the face." Said Paul Hartshorn Jr., spokesman for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. The attendant was to be released from the hospital and flown back to her home in New York today.
"Let me assure you, American Airlines will not tolerate airport or in-flight misconduct of any kind, particularly toward our crewmembers or airport team." Parker said. "As of this individual, I can guarantee you he will never be allowed to fly American Airlines again."
While the case is still under investigation, Parker vows to work with the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration, which has the authority to levy fines.
Meantime the unrest among unions is growing over the lack of severe punishment. Out of nearly five-thousand reports of unruly passengers this year, just over 200 have faced consequences.
"We have never seen numbers like this before. Our flight attendants are being taken off the aircraft on stretchers and it has got to stop." Hartshorn said.
While the passenger may have seen his last flight on American Airlines, Hartshorn says there’s an effort to keep the guilty on the ground for good. Unions are banding together to pull the flying privileges from anyone who assaults a member of a flight crew from all air carriers.
The FBI office in Denver is declining comment on the man’s identity or other aspects of the investigation.
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