When a whacked out passenger tries to storm the cockpit, flight crews are well trained to do the best they can with what they have on hand. This time, a coffee pot was real effective, when applied upside the maniac’s head, to beat the domestic terrorist into submission.
Flight crew fights back
American Airlines flight 1775 was on it’s way from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, when a passenger got more than a little unruly. They aren’t saying his name but the plane had to make an emergency landing in Kansas.
On Sunday, February 13, a male passenger “attempted to enter the cockpit.” When that didn’t work, he tried to “open an exit door.” There’s enough fresh air out there to suck people right through the gap if they aren’t strapped down.
According to the New York times, vigilant passengers and alert crew members “controlled the unruly passenger until he was taken into custody upon landing.” That barely scratches the surface of what happened aboard the plane. Passenger Mouaz Moustafa gave an account of what he saw.
“A flight attendant ran to the back of the plane and got the coffee pot,” he notes, and continued to “bash the guy on the head” until he was “bleeding profusely.” He was glad to see it. “I honestly thought today I might die.”
Once they got the plane firmly on the ground in Kansas City, there were lots of police, and a couple of FBI agents, on hand to take the domestic terrorist into custody.
American Airlines emphasized in their official statement that “the flight landed safely.” That’s the most important part to them. They praise the plane’s crew who “handled the circumstances with the utmost skill and professionalism.”
A disturbing increase
Now that passengers aren’t allowed to bring their emotional support squirrel on the flight with them, mental meltdowns have become a regular occurrence. The Federal Aviation Administration has seen a “disturbing increase in incidents.”
Especially ones involving “threatening or violent behavior.” As of early February, the FAA has logged “394 unruly passenger reports and 255 mask-related incidents.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued an order to shift resources away from investigating parents who question Critical Race Theory classroom agendas to focus on “passengers who assault, intimidate or threaten violence against flight crews.” Temper tantrums like the ones exposed recently do a lot more than “harm those employees.”
The outbursts also “prevent the performance of critical duties that help ensure safe air travel.” Not only that, “when passengers commit violent acts against other passengers in the close confines of a commercial aircraft, the conduct endangers everyone aboard.”
The answer is enhanced training on use of improvised weapons. Coffee pots have little chance of poking holes in the pressurized cabin. Air crews these days are well supplied with zip ties and duct tape.
They also appreciate a hand from volunteer vigilantes aboard when someone turns dangerously violent. There isn’t an Air Marshall on every plane but most of the time, a substantial number of the occupied seats are filled by folks with the “let’s roll” mentality displayed by Todd Beamer and associates on September 11’s infamous flight 93.
