American Airlines apologizes after video shows tense moments on aircraft
NEW YORK -- American Airlines apologized after a video posted to Facebook captured the moments after an employee allegedly hit a woman with a stroller, narrowly missing the baby in her arms.
In a statement, American Airlines said it was “deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident.”
The airline said that it saw the video and started an investigation “to obtain the facts.”
“What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers,” the statement, on Friday, said.
The airline also suspended the flight attendant involved while the incident is being investigated. The passenger and her family chose to take another flight and were upgraded to first class, CBS News’ Carter Evans reported.
The incident took place aboard an aircraft Friday as passengers were boarding an American flight that was heading from San Francisco to Dallas. Video shows a woman in tears holding a baby, asking flight attendants to give her the stroller back.
As the woman sobs, another passenger steps in.
“What’s the guy’s name who did that with the stroller?” the man says. “Is he an American Airlines employee? I want to know his name personally. That’s ridiculous.”
Another passenger can be heard saying “he smacked her in the face with the stroller.”
About a minute later, the employee who apparently wrested the stroller from the woman returns to the cabin, at which point the male passenger who demanded his name confronts him directly.
“Hey, bud? Hey, bud? You do that to me and I’ll knock you flat,” the male passenger says, rising from his seat.
“You stay out of this! You stay out of this!” the employee responds, waving his finger at the passenger. “Try it. Hit me.” The two exchange words before being separated by other crew members.
A description posted alongside the video says, “OMG! AA Flight attendant violently took a stroller from a lady with her baby on my flight, hitting her and just missing the baby. Then he tried to fight a passenger who stood up for her. AA591 from SFO to DFW.”
In a statement to CBS Dallas-Fort Worth, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants says “neither the company nor the public should rush to judgment… It appears another passenger may have threatened a Flight Attendant with violence, which is a violation of federal law and no small matter.”
The incident followed a violent confrontation earlier this month in which a man was dragged off a United flight. Videos posted on social media captured that incident, sparking an uproar.
The video of the American incident was viewed more than six million times by Sunday evening.
