Flight Met by Law Enforcement After Disturbing Discovery in Plane's Restroom, Attendant Escorted Away
Law enforcement officers met a flight that landed in Boston on Saturday morning after a male flight attendant allegedly placed a camera in an airplane bathroom as a teen girl was about to enter it.
Details about the incident were slim as of Monday morning, but the disturbing allegation is awful for multiple reasons.
Not only is a “peeping Tom” situation on a flight unthinkable — especially with the intended victim being a child — but it breaks a level of trust airline passengers have long had with flight crews.
A flight attendant is supposed to be calm, cool, collected, polite and professional.
According to WFXT-DT, one of these “professionals” on a flight from North Carolina was anything but well-intentioned and committed a “potential criminal act,” the Massachusetts State Police said.
Per the Boston Fox affiliate, a teen girl was preparing to enter a restroom on American Airlines flight 1441 when she was stopped by a male flight attendant.
A witness to the situation who was on the flight said the girl approached the restroom in first class when she encountered the crew member.
“When she was about to go the bathroom he stopped her and said, ‘Hey hold on just a second, we’re about to start collecting trash, so I am going to wash my hands,’” the passenger recalled.
The girl eventually made her way into and out of the bathroom, but the passenger said he instantly sensed something was wrong when the girl’s mother came up to the area.
The mom stopped another passenger from entering the lavatory with a warning.
“The mom stopped that passenger from going to the bathroom and said ‘Wait, don’t go in there,” the person who spoke to WFXT said.
The witness asked the person who was warned not to go into the bathroom what had been said.
“That was who told me it was a camera in the bathroom,” WFXT’s witness said.
When the plane landed, police were waiting. The girl and her mother were taken off the flight first.
The flight attendant was next — and he had police escorts.
Eventually, the other passengers were allowed to exit the plane. The passenger who spoke to WFXT described how the events unfolded.
“Police came on, and then staff from the airline came on, and 3 or 4 different people checked the bathroom,” the passenger said. “After 3 or 4 different people checked the bathroom, they took the male flight attendant off, and that’s when they let us off.”
The identity of the flight attendant has not been made public, and it is unclear if he was arrested.
American Airlines released a brief statement on the situation.
“We take this matter very seriously and are fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation, as safety and security are our highest priorities,” the airline said.
Since the alleged act occurred over the country’s skies, the FBI is investigating.
“State Police have referred Boston 25 to the FBI, which has taken over the investigation of the incident,” the outlet reported.
If the flight attendant accused of placing the camera in the bathroom indeed committed such a despicable act, it may not have been the first time.
There could be unwitting victims of perversion from coast to coast.
As if travelers didn’t already have enough on their plates. From turbulence to cramped seats that seem to get smaller all the time to unruly passengers and delays, flying is already not pleasant for a great many Americans.
Airlines charge more for less while customer service is also, generally speaking, not what it once was.
But one thing that has remained true of traveling by air for decades and decades is that there is an element of trust between the crew of a flight and their passengers.
These are people who are supposed to smile during thunderstorms and keep people safe.
It sounds like a creepy, malevolent person abused this position of authority. Hopefully, more information will come to light on this situation, and we will find out it was all a big misunderstanding.
But if an airline employee did place a camera in an airplane bathroom with the intent to film a child and others, that person deserves to be made an example of.
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