2 Passengers Booted Off Plane After First-Class Prank

Witness says woman squeezed under friend's seat before plane took off
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 3, 2020 9:40 AM CST
Updated Nov 7, 2020 5:00 PM CST
YouTube Prank Gets Women Booted From Flight
American Airlines planes are seen at Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 31, 2020.   (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

An incident on an American Airlines flight got at least two passengers kicked off the plane, all supposedly in an effort to get views on YouTube. A witness to the incident last week in the first-class section of a flight headed from Dallas to Miami posted about it in the FlyerTalk forum, noting they were seated before the plane took off when they saw a woman come up from the coach section to see her friend, seated near the witness in first class. Suddenly, the witness says, the woman from coach squeezed into the footwell area of her friend's seat, under the TV console—apparently "to remain there the entire flight as it's something they thought would drive viewers to their 'You Tube Channel.'" Flight attendants soon noticed the empty coach seat and announced that the passenger had to return to her seat or the plane wouldn't take off, per the witness.

The witness adds that eventually the woman emerged and tried to sneak back to coach but was "busted." The witness says the captain then announced the plane was returning to the gate to deal with a "security issue," at which point the friend in first class started going ballistic, ripping off her mask and "screaming that she's being disrespected." In a statement, American Airlines confirmed the incident to Fox News, noting "the two passengers, traveling together, would not comply with seat assignments during taxi out." The airline says law enforcement met the plane at the gate and that the two passengers left the aircraft. The plane arrived in Miami nearly three hours late, though the witness notes there'd also been an earlier delay due to an unrelated issue. The witness also says a third passenger was booted from the plane after getting belligerent over the delay, though the airline hasn't confirmed that. No word on whether anyone was arrested or banned from future AA flights. (More pranks stories.)

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