Twitter/Chris Nguyen American Airlines flight screenshot with hands on head
A viral video shows passengers on an American Airlines flight being made to put their hands on their head after leaving the Los Angeles airport. You can watch the video later in this article.
A passenger says they were told to put their hands on their heads for close to an hour toward the end of a flight from Los Angeles to Miami.
Chris Nguyen, a passenger from Orange County, California, wrote on Twitter, “The arrest happened when 2289 landed in Miami (flight landed at 4:42 ET). Passengers were ordered to put their hands on their heads for 45-60 minutes before landing. Strangely, passengers were repeatedly told not to film on the plane.”
According to Independent, American Airlines responded, “On July 7, American Airlines flight 2289, a Boeing 777-300 operating from Los Angeles (LAX) to Miami (MIA), was met by law enforcement upon landing at MIA due to a possible security threat on board. Passengers were deplaned and bused to the terminal, and the aircraft was inspected by authorities. Safety and security is our top priority and we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this caused.” The airline did not provide additional details.
Another Twitter user wrote, “Craziest experience of my life…Passengers are traumatized for life.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Video Shows All of the Passengers With Their Hands on Their Heads
@KTLAnewsdesk @AmericanAir The arrest happened when 2289 landed in Miami (flight landed at 4:42 ET). Passengers were ordered to put their hands on their heads for 45-60 minutes before landing. Strangely, passengers were repeatedly told not to film on the plane.
Nguyen also shared a Washington Post story about whether you can use cell phones on planes, writing, “A @washingtonpost piece from 2018: ‘…the cellphone is your last, best weapon against bad airline service. Everything else has been taken from passengers. But we still have our phones. We should be ready to use them.'”
He also shared video from inside the terminal, writing, “Here’s the MIA terminal where passengers were forced to wait after getting off the plane.”
@KTLAnewsdesk @AmericanAir Here’s the MIA terminal where passengers were forced to wait after getting off the plane.
He wrote KTLA-TV’s news desk on Twitter, writing, “Any idea why law enforcement came on with machine guns and arrested a guy on @AmericanAir Flight 2289 from LAX to MIA?” KTLA-TV responded, “What time did this happen? Was the person arrested in LA or Miami? Do you have videos you would be willing to share with us?” He then shared the video.
Another customer wrote, “Tell me why I had the scariest American Airlines flight from LA to Miami that the swat team got on- aiming their big ass guns at all passengers with no explanation…. had to stay in a diff city with no luggage or anything for 24 hours, etc and they refuse to give me a refund lol.”
People Had Varied Reactions on Social Media
Tell me why I had the scariest American Airlines flight from LA to Miami that the swat team got on- aiming their big ass guns at all passengers with no explanation…. had to stay in a diff city with no luggage or anything for 24 hours, etc and they refuse to give me a refund lol
People had varied reactions to the video on social media. Here are some of them:
“Many times bad characters want to be seen on video and may have seen your filming as his/her opportunity. Although I agree that there’s been a tremendous amount of government overreach; however I see this as AA doing what’s best to protect their passengers,” a Twitter user wrote.
“Let’s be real. For any real threat they would not have flown another HOUR! It would have been an emergency landing at closest airport. This stinks of something strange,” a Twitter user wrote.
“So you filmed anyway? They want the hands up so they’re busy if your hands are not on your head you might be mistaken as the kind of people that do stupid things on airplanes,” wrote another.
READ NEXT: Remembering Terre Haute Police Detective Greg Ferency