Frontier Airlines suspended the crew for duct taping a violent passenger to his seat

[FelineOverlord]

Link to tweet

[Sherman A1]

1. WTF

The crew should get a raise!

[JohnSJ]

5. suspended isn't a punishment. I would think that is the standard procedure in such instances

just to make sure the facts are understood, before they are brought back

[Nevilledog]

37. Not so sure...

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Kim Kelly
@GrimKim
·
Aug 3, 2021
A drunk passenger assaulted two flight attendants, so they restrained him with duct tape—and were suspended. Now, @afa_cwa has a warning for mgmt: if the situation isn’t immediately corrected, “Flight Attendants may feel unsafe to come to work.” The AFA-CWA is not here to play.
Full statement here: https://www.afacwa.org/afa_calls_frontier_support_crews_immediately
Full text of statement here: https://www.afacwa.org/afa_calls_frontier_support_crews_immediately

Kim Kelly
@GrimKim
This may seem like vague PR-speak, but coming from the AFA-CWA—a militant union with a devoted membership & widely recognized (and feared) reputation for merciless strike tactics—means that management had better fix this, and quick, or they may find themselves in a world of pain
11:34 AM · Aug 3, 2021

[global1]

2. Brilliant - That's Right Punish The Crew For Doing Their Job....nt

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I suppose they violated some rule more than he did, but what is the proper procedure for dealing...

with a violent, probably drunken, passenger?

[CurtEastPoint]

13. Yes. Dealing with violent, probably drunken, passenger WHILE IN THE AIR? Kudos to them.

[Thomas Hurt]

4. I would have thought that was the protocol. They did this pending an investigation?

Though I suppose they could have beat him senseless.

[Wavelight]

6. Frontier is a garbage airline

I would’ve knocked him the F out

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Yes & Yes

I flew Frontier once. ONCE! And I've taken more than 600 round trips by plane.
I needed to get to Dallas THAT afternoon. No AAL flight was available until later.
Flew Frontier to KC, then on to Dallas. Flight left Chicago late. Plane was dirty. The stop in KC was 7 minutes too long, compared to the scheduled time. No weather anywhere.
During the stop in KC, we had(!) to deplane, and take our stuff with us. Then get back on. And, the plane wasn't cleaned further.
And, yes again, as I would have choked that guy out.

[femmedem]

7. Um, what were they supposed to do? Let him continue groping them?

Last edited Tue Aug 3, 2021, 01:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Maybe there is some other procedure they're trained to use under these circumstances, but if not, they did what they needed to do to protect themselves and others, and it looks to me as if they stayed calm under pressure.

Edited to add: reading further and understanding that an investigation is pending, if this suspension is with pay, that makes sense.

[zuul]

8. That was a pretty creative way to deal with a disruptive asshole.

Give the crew a raise!

[Tetrachloride]

23. Agree

[C_U_L8R]

9. Max Berry better be banned from air travel of life

And this crew should get raises and promotions as their punishment.

[ananda]

10. Geez, what about flight safety?

I say they did the right thing.

[Lancero]

11. Looks bad with the footage, but a suspension pending investigation isn't out of the ordinary.

The investigation really shouldn't take more than a day considering the footage though.

[Moostache]

12. If EVER there were a time for the pilot to make this message, THAT is it!

THEN they should have given little Maxie a binky and a good paddlin'...

[Chainfire]

14. The should have just put him out.

[Initech]

15. What is causing people to be so shitty lately?

[lagomorph777]

17. Trumpism.

[Initech]

29. Not gonna dispute that one!

[Sympthsical]

42. Disintegration of the social fabric

That's my theory. I know people say Trump, and it is in a way. The problem is the pandemic. The isolation and paranoia. It eroded socialization. It's like letting people out of jail after a long time. They often have a hard time reintegrating into society.

Where Trump comes in is he's the asshole that let the pandemic get that far.

But I firmly believe over a year of lockdown and isolation has just totally messed some people up. Like they forgot what appropriate interaction is like.

And if you just spent over a year where your primary social interactions were on social media, well . . . let's just social media are not priming anyone to be a decent person.

[Yonnie3]

16. Suspended?

I read that Frontier stated that they were relieved of duty until the incident was investigated.

Edit:

I would think that this is a standard procedure when use of force and restraints are required. With the video, witness accounts to the media, and criminal charges on the perpetrator it will be quick. A few days off with pay to decompress seems like a good thing.

[Zeitghost]

18. Paid leave I hope.

Paid leave while things get hashed out and reports are made seems reasonable. If for no other reason than they need a break to ensure they aren't overly stressed from the incident.

[Midnight Writer]

19. I guess the "Let's Roll!" protocol to stop dangerous passengers is no longer in effect.

[ms liberty]

20. I love that the crowd was telling the jerk to shut up and seemed happy to see him restrained

[RockRaven]

21. What were they supposed to do?

Serious question: what is the official, company- and government-approved action when faced with a sexually-assaulting, punching passenger while in the air?

Are they supposed to NOT restrain him? Just let him rampage through the cabin harming anyone and everyone?
Are they supposed to restrain him with specific equipment/techniques other than what they used? Handcuffs? Hogtie him with belts in the aisle? Beat/choke/drug him into unconsciousness?

Once you're airborne with a violent molestor who is not responsive to verbal instruction/redirection, what's the bulletproof, non-second-guessable, by-the-book method?

[pinkstarburst]

34. Exactly

They had no good options. They picked the best of the bad options.

What were they supposed to do, let him continue sexually and physically assaulting crewmembers and passengers for the next hour until the plane landed?

Have the flight attendants try to physically restrain him (which requires expert training to do safely or you can seriously harm the person, especially while they are struggling)?

Duct tape caused him no permanent damage. He was not able to harm anyone else on the flight. He made it to the gate alive where he was able to be turned over to police.

I really don't see what the problem is.

[PortTack]

35. Agree! Geez what were they supposed to do, wait until he tried opening an emergency exit and put

Everyone’s life in danger

[Vinca]

22. They should be praised not suspended.

The guy deserved to be kicked out the door with no parachute.

[DanieRains]

24. $2 Million Doesn't Even Buy A Nice House These Days

What was he thinking....

[mahina]

25. Quick tape

Is what they are trained to use.

Pretty much the same

[Mysterian]

26. Seems like a reasonable way to restrain someone on an aircraft

I hope the suspension is temporary and the crew paid for time off.

[Greybnk48]

28. They should be given medals for what they did! n/t

[progressoid]

30. If my son acted that way,

he wouldn't see any of that 2 mil.

[Disaffected]

31. Beauty!

(how they handled it).

[NurseJackie]

32. They should get a BONUS!!

[XanaDUer2]

33. On duct taping his head and mouth

they needed to do that to keep his screams from causing more stress or biting someone.

[vercetti2021]

36. WTAF?!

Jesus I'd disown that little shit. What the hell is wrong with these animals? Groping woman, screaming at people, wanting to fight...oh nevermind. He def voted for TFG

[csziggy]

38. Small quibble

That wasn't duct tape - that was packing tape. Big difference - duct tape will rip your hair out. Packing tape will just pull a little bit of hair off.

[crickets]

39. Where are the Federal Air Marshals these days?

I know they can't be on all flights all the time, but it seems as though none of them are on any of the many flights that are experiencing problems lately. Where are they? Would Pete Buttigieg be the one to ask?

[frogmarch]

40. He'll probably sue the airline

and maybe the crew members individually as well.

Maybe this is how his family got rich.

[mn9driver]

41. Allow me to add some information here.

Here is how it’s supposed to work:

Restraining an out of control passenger can be done in a couple of different ways. One way is to use Tuff Cuffs, which are often misidentified in news reports as “zip ties”. Tuff Cuffs are not zip ties. They are specialized, law enforcement grade, plastic handcuffs.

Ideally, the passenger should have their hands cuffed in front of them and then be placed in a seat and restrained with a seatbelt. If necessary, their wrists may additionally restrained by cuffing them to a belt around their waist.

If Tuff Cuffs are not available, tape would be an ok substitute, using the same methods of restraint.

In either case, the FAA is VERY specific: The passenger cannot be fastened to the structure of the aircraft; not to a seat, or anything else. The seatbelt is the only allowable way to do it. The reason for this is that in the event of an emergency, the passenger must be able to be quickly released and have the ability to use the emergency exits.

That’s the way it is, and it sounds like these flight attendants didn’t do it that way. They’ll get some refresher training and be back at work if they want.