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‘She assaulted me!’: Vaping passenger kicked off American Airlines flight after meltdown. Airline reacts
An American Airlines passenger confronted a flight attendant after he was allegedly caught vaping inside the airplane bathroom.
An American Airlines passenger had a meltdown after he was allegedly caught vaping inside the airplane bathroom by a flight attendant. Peter Nguyen posted a video of himself confronting the flight attendant and accusing her of “assault” after she opened the door of the washroom while he was inside.
In the clip, Nguyen repeatedly claimed that the flight attendant “laid hands” on him when she tried to grab his phone. He seemingly admitted to the fact that he was vaping when questioned by Instagram users in the comments section — “Nicotine withdrawal is real,” he wrote in response to one person who asked why he was vaping inside the washroom.
American Airlines flight attendant confronts passenger
What began as a clear-cut case of a passenger breaking the rules on a flight soon turned chaotic when said passenger began to accuse the attendant of assault.
Peter Nguyen, who describes himself as a celebrity pickleball coach, began recording the moment he was confronted by an American Airlines flight attendant for vaping inside the washroom. In the video, he initially appears to apologize.
“I was actually sitting on the toilet and you were opening the door,” he told the flight attendant.
“I don’t care,” she replied. “You can keep saying you’re sorry but I care about all these passengers.”
A few seconds later, the flight attendant appeared to reach for Nguyen’s phone and the video cut off abruptly. In a second clip, Nguyen was seen repeatedly accusing the flight attendant of assaulting him.
According to a Daily Mail report, the incident occurred on Monday, August 4, on a flight from Phoenix to San Francisco.
Passenger accuses AA attendant of assault
“She put her hands on me,” Nguyen said, accusing the flight attendant of assault. Another flight attendant showed up to defend the first one. “She did not. Why are you smoking? You're not supposed to be smoking!” she told Nguyen, who then claimed that he had a lawyer and that he himself was a lawyer.
“Yes, but she put her hands on me. I have a lawyer. I am a lawyer,” he replied. The pickleball coach also seemed to flex his follower count, telling the attendants that he had 25,000 followers who would be watching the interaction.
“Do not touch me,” he told the attendant, threatening to release the footage unless she apologized. He also said he would be calling the police once the flight landed.
It is not clear if Nguyen actually called the police on the flight attendant.
What American Airlines did
In a statement to HT.com, American Airlines confirmed that the passenger was removed from the aircraft at San Francisco International Airport due to disruptive behaviour. The San Francisco Police Department met the flight upon arrival and escorted the customer out of the concourse.
“A customer on American Airlines flight 2860 with service from Phoenix (PHX) to San Francisco (SFO) was removed from the aircraft upon arrival at SFO due to disruptive behavior. We thank our customers for their patience and apologize for any inconvenience,"an American Airlines customer told HT.com.
Social media weighs in
On social media, however, the verdict was clear – a majority of viewers on Instagram and Reddit, where the video was reposted, accused Nguyen of acting irresponsibly and slammed his behaviour.
“So... you were breaking the law & instead of taking accountability you just berated a woman doing her job?” asked one Instagram user. To this, Nguyen replied: “She committed battery”.
“You’re completely in the wrong,” another person informed the passenger.
Nguyen changed several explanations for his behaviour. He said the flight attendant kept locking and unlocking the door and added, “I was in emotional distress and didn’t know what was happening.”
He then claimed that he is autistic, and that he was also suffering from nicotine withdrawal.
