American Flight Attendant To Angry Passenger: 'Hit me'
HOUSTON (WWJ/AP) — American Airlines says it has grounded a flight attendant who got into a verbal confrontation with a passenger after the flight attendant took a baby stroller away from another passenger.
Spokeswoman Leslie Scott says the airline is looking into whether the male flight attendant violently took away the stroller from the female passenger just before she boarded a Friday flight from San Francisco to Dallas. He has been removed from duty in the meantime.
A video taken by a passenger and posted on Facebook shows the sobbing woman holding a small child and saying, "You can't use violence with baby."
Later, an unidentified male passenger confronts the flight attendant, telling him, "You do that to me and I'll knock you flat." The flight attendant responds with "Hit me. Bring it on."
The incident comes less than two weeks after video of a man being violently dragged off a United Express flight sparked widespread outrage.
The event stemmed from a common air travel issue — a full flight.
At first, the airline asked for volunteers, offering $400 and then when that did not work, $800 per passenger to relinquish a seat. When no one voluntarily came forward, United selected four passengers at random.
Three people got off the flight, but the fourth said he was a doctor and needed to get home to treat patients on Monday. He refused to leave.
That's when three Aviation Department police officers boarded the plane. When Dao refused to leave his seat, one of the officers could be seen grabbing the screaming man from his window seat, across the armrest and dragging him down the aisle by his arms.
Other passengers on Flight 3411 are heard saying, "Please, my God," "What are you doing?" "This is wrong," "Look at what you did to him" and "Busted his lip."
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