Man's meltdown over crying baby on Southwest flight from Baltimore goes viral
BALTIMORE -- Mark Grabowski found himself at the center of a mid-air meltdown on a flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale on Monday
A fellow passenger became enraged over a baby's constant cries and went on a lengthy profanity-laced tirade.
"The last three years especially since COVID, it's just been so much more on edge," Grabowski said. "Everyone has had a little less patience these days. The majority of the viral videos shot on airplanes have probably been shot in the last three years."
He noted the plane had been in a holding pattern due to severe weather and after the infant continued to cry, the unidentified passenger across the aisle from him suddenly had enough.
"Really, out of nowhere, he just kind of blurted out, 'Shut that [expletive] baby up, and everyone was just kind of stunned," Grabowski told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "Myself and a couple of passengers were kind of stunned and tried to calm him down. 'Take a breath. None of us want to be in a situation. Let's just calm down here.' And he doubled down."
Grabowski praised the Southwest crew for how they handled the situation. He said the child and parents were sitting in the row ahead of him and flight attendants got them off the plane while they dealt with the upset passenger.
"[There was] bad weather. So, nobody was allowed to get up and move around," Grabowski said. "So, obviously, a kind of a tinderbox forming, and a crying baby doesn't help situations, but most people understand where this was coming from."
The man who had the meltdown was taken off the flight by authorities and met by police inside the terminal. We are told he was not arrested but millions have now heard about the ordeal that clearly touched a nerve.
"He was kind of illogical," Grabowski said. "I think the crew did a great job of recognizing that and instead of trying to argue with him, they just did what they could to calm him down."
Southwest Airlines told WJZ in a statement that it commended the crew "for exhibiting outstanding professionalism while handling a challenging situation, and we appreciate the patience of our other customers onboard who had to experience the unacceptable behavior."
