Maybe the legendary poor of customer service practices of the major airlines are somewhat justifiable when factoring in the number of boneheaded moves caused by passengers on an annual basis.
In the latest example of a raucous and unruly air traveler gone berserk, a US domestic flight had to be a diverted, as fellow passengers successfully subdued the crazed individual. According to KTRK-TV, a woman attempted to open the rear door of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 in route to Houston via Los Angeles Sunday. As a precautionary measure, the pilots of flight #4519 requested clearance to an airport in Corpus Christi, Texas, roughly 200 miles from the final destination of Hobby International Airport.
Eyewitnesses say the woman was acting erratically in the terminal at LAX and during much of the three hour plus flight, before her behavior culminated in the desperate and chilling act of ambushing the emergency exit. Luckily for the passengers and the disturbed individual, the differentiation in pressures between the cabin and the atmosphere make the act almost impossible and the redundancy of the aircraft design locks the doors during flight. A passenger and an off-duty police officer were able to forcefully restrain the woman as she made her failed rush on the emergency exit. Authorities have not released information as to the reason for the irregular behavior and violent outburst. As a result of the disruption, passengers and crew arrived in Houston, five hours behind schedule. The average flight time between LAX and HOU is 3 hours and 25 minutes.
There is no word yet whether the hellish travel companion will file a civil lawsuit against Southwest on the grounds of not providing a viable “safe place” at cruising altitude or for her less than glamorous accommodations upon arrival in Corpus Christi. Somehow and some way this narrative will become tainted by politicization.
Read the full KTRK-TV story here.
