An Alaska Airlines passenger flying coach out of JFK on Thursday allegedly tried to use the bathroom in first class and wound up getting arrested in Kansas City.
During flight 411 from New York to Los Angeles, the unidentified man reportedly became incensed that he could not use the first-class bathroom when there was a long line for the coach bathrooms. After being told he had to wait with the others, the man allegedly threatened to march into the cockpit, CBS News reports. The pilot subsequently diverted the flight to Kansas City, Missouri, so that local police could arrest the passenger.
A trio of cell phone videos posted on Instagram show a man in a Jets jersey arguing with flight attendants, challenging the injustice of letting restrooms go unused while so many people are waiting to relieve themselves, and then finally being removed from a plane by police.
“It’s wrong. I don’t care how much money you got. It ain't about money. We’re trying to use the bathroom," the man can be seen declaring. "So they'd rather let the bathroom be empty up there, and let eight people wait in line to use the bathroom while two bathrooms are empty in the front. And he's gonna come to me and tell me he's gonna call the police?"
An announcement from the pilot then breaks through the man’s impassioned plea for a more equitable allocation of bathroom space: “Following my crew members’ directions is a federal requirement,” the pilot warns.
The third video in the Instagram post shows police escorting the man off the flight, but none of the videos show him threatening to storm the cockpit.
The FBI told Gothamist in a statement: “The FBI is assisting local police with an incident involving a passenger aboard an Alaska Airlines flight. The plane landed safely at Kansas City International Airport. As this is still an ongoing matter, we are unable to comment further at this time."
Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a statement to CBS, an airline spokesperson disputed the account that the man threatened to storm the cockpit, saying, “we currently have no indication he attempted to breach the flight deck.”
A statement from the FAA provided to CBS merely confirms “a passenger disturbance.” We’ll update as more information becomes available.
