An American Airlines pilot threatened to divert a flight and strand a group of chanting supporters of President Trump, whom he felt were being unruly, if they didn’t calm down and “behave.”
The flight from Washington D.C. to Phoenix on Friday came two days after Wednesday’s riot at the United States Capitol. According to Business Insider, the pilot threatened to land in Kansas before continuing on, a remarkable exchange that was captured on video by at least two passengers, who then posted the footage to Twitter.
Just a day earlier American had an issue with Trump supporters as well.
From the beginning of the flight, videos show people chanting “USA” and “Fight For Trump,” two rallying cries heard during the President’s speech at a rally on Wednesday.
Wow. I’m on a plane full of patriots flying from DC to Phoenix and we started chanting “USA” …and the Captain came on said told us he’d drop us off in Kansas if he had to if we didn’t obey their every single rule.
American Airlines is everything but American.@AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/duFt2W90cc
Mindy Robinson (@iheartmindy) January 8, 2021
The pilot came on the intercom and warned the passengers, saying “This is the way it’s gonna be… it’s a four and a half hour flight to Phoenix. We’ll put this plane down in the middle of Kansas and dump people off — I don’t care. We will do that if that’s what it takes, so behave, please.”
A second woman posted this video.
.@AmericanAir threatening to “dump people off” in the middle of Kansas. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/Tmmek6Yu5h
— Doctor President-elect Amanda Head (@AmandaHead) January 8, 2021
In a statement to the New York Post, American Airlines defended the pilot’s actions and suggested that some passengers had also refused to comply with the requirement to wear a mask while flying.
The pilot was “emphasizing the importance of following crew member instructions and complying with mandatory face-covering policies.”
The flight did land in Phoenix on time with no further issues.
