Airline Wars (2024) s01e04 Episode Script

[intense music]
- [Narrator] In
airplanes and airports,
people are acting up.
- [Narrator] And acting
out more than ever.
- [Narrator] In recent years,
unruly passenger incidents
have more than doubled,
and all of it is
caught on camera.
- [Narrator] So fasten
your seat belts.
We're headed for the
not so friendly skies.
- [Passenger] What is he doing?
[plane engine roaring]
- [Narrator] The
airline industry
has been struggling
with the shortage
of flight attendants,
partly because the job
has gotten tougher,
and one factor is the uptick
in hostile passengers.
Like this one.
[passengers shouting]
After this plane touches
down in San Diego,
a passenger begins throwing
punches at a flight attendant
who struggles to get
out of harm's way.
Then another passenger steps in.
[passengers shouting]
- [Passenger] She
came at her first.
- [Narrator] According
to court records,
the bloody battle started
when the flight attendant
asked the woman to
put on her mask,
fasten her seatbelt,
and put up her tray
table while taxiing,
standard FAA requirements.
- [Narrator] A
criminal complaint
filed against the passenger
said the bruised and
bloodied flight attendant
had to have two teeth replaced.
- [Passenger] A child, too.
- [Narrator] Once the
combative passenger
was removed from the airplane,
the flight attendant was
treated at a nearby hospital.
The passenger pleaded guilty
to one count of interfering
with the duties of
a flight attendant
and was sentenced to 15
months in federal prison.
[plane engine roaring]
Air travel is enough
of a pressure cooker.
When the conflict in question
involves a baby and a stroller,
emotions are bound to boil over,
and that's exactly
what happens here.
- [Narrator] Reportedly,
this woman was trying
to store her stroller
and it was taken from her
by this flight attendant,
allegedly striking
her in the process.
He later claimed
it was an accident.
- [Narrator] Passengers
saw what happened
and have her back.
- [Narrator] The
flight attendant
involved in the
exchange returns.
One passenger
confronts him directly.
- [Narrator] And the
situation escalates.
Yeah.
- Honey, sit down.
- [Narrator] The incident
became national news
and the airline issued
the mom an apology.
- [Narrator] As for
the flight attendant,
he was suspended.
[roaring plane engine]
- [Narrator] In the tight
quarters of an airplane cabin
- [Narrator] Things can
escalate pretty quickly.
A flight from Miami to
Chicago is delayed at the gate
because of a heated altercation.
- [Narrator] Witnesses
say this man
put his hands on a woman
sitting next to him
after insulting
her and her friend.
Law enforcement has
come in to remove him.
- What is it
Wait, wait, no.
- [Narrator] Shouting
from the other passengers
adds to a tense scene.
- [Passenger] Get him
off, get him off.
- [All] [chanting] Get
him off. Get him off.
Get him off. Get him
off. Get him off.
Get him off. Get him off.
- [Narrator] When the
man is confused
- What is the reason?
- [Narrator] Officers
try to restrain him.
[passengers shouting]
- Do not fight.
Do not fight, do you
understand that?
- [Narrator] But he resists.
- Yeah, no, you listen.
- [Officers] Do
you understand me?
- [Narrator] And keeps
repeating himself.
- I'm asking you right now
because you have to answer.
- [Narrator] So the officers
try another strategy.
- What are you, no.
- [Narrator] The
officer's decision
will either take the man down
or aggravate the
situation even further.
[passenger screams]
- [Officer] Get the
(bleep) outta here.
- [Narrator] A plane scheduled
to fly from Miami to Chicago
hasn't gotten off the
ground because of this man.
- [Passengers] [chanting]
Get him off. Get him off.
- [Narrator] He
reportedly put his hands
on another passenger
and now officers are trying
to remove him from the plane.
- [Officer] Johnson,
watch out. Watch out.
Johnson, watch out.
- [Officer] Watch out, Johnson.
- Go ahead.
- [Officer] Get the
(bleep) outta here.
- [Narrator] But the shock
doesn't seem to work.
[taser buzzing]
- [Narrator] The man is
reportedly tased 10 times,
yet somehow seems impervious
to the massive voltage.
Until finally, he
gives up the fight.
- [Narrator] Passengers
are delighted
to see the man
hauled away in cuffs.
- [Passengers] Bye,
you deserve it.
- [Narrator] Police said the man
later tried to grab
an officer's gun
and damage the golf cart
used to transport him.
He was charged with
multiple offenses
including disorderly conduct
and resisting arrest.
[plane engine roaring]
Flyers are always
advised to stay alert
and keep belongings
within reach,
because someone else
might reach for them.
At Rome's Fiumicino Airport,
travelers are passing through
a routine security screening.
The man in a T-shirt
places his items,
including envelopes
containing $9,000 in cash,
into a security bin,
then continued to the scanner.
As agents ask him to go
through security again.
The stranger
standing behind him,
this man in the
white button down,
places his belongings in a bin.
The man in the T-shirt is
then told to move forward
to a different scanner.
On another camera.
The second man arrives at
the conveyor belt first,
spotting the envelopes.
He reaches in and grabs them.
Then, without missing a beat,
casually takes his
own belt and sweater.
The envelope owner is
now through security
and frantically looking
for his $9,000,
which was meant to pay for a
relative's medical expenses.
Just a few feet away, it appears
the man in the button
down walks off,
still carrying the envelopes.
He was arrested by
Italian border guards
as he tried to board
his flight to Russia.
The envelopes were found
stashed in the airport bathroom
and later returned
to the victim.
[airplane engine roars]
Trying to open an airplane door
mid-flight is an
extremely bad idea.
- [Narrator] After
fellow passengers
claim this man tried
to do just that,
he's tackled face down
by the passengers
and a crew member on
his flight to Atlanta.
- [Attendant] I need everyone
to take their seats
right now, (indistinct).
We can't get forward
with restraints
if everybody's in the aisle.
- [Narrator] Thankfully,
no injuries were reported
and the plane was
diverted to Oklahoma City.
As for the disruptive passenger,
according to the airline,
the man was actually an
off-duty flight attendant
and did not attempt
to open a plane door
but made an unauthorized
announcement over the PA system,
telling passengers to put
on their oxygen masks.
His move toward the PA system
may have led some passengers
to think he was heading
for the plane door.
He was charged with one
count of interference
with flight crew
members and attendants.
[airplane engine roars]
Getting stuck on the tarmac
is a typical headache
of air travel,
but there's nothing typical
about this tarmac delay.
A man is spotted on the runway
at McCarran International
in Las Vegas.
And he actually makes
it onto the wing
of a parked airplane
full of passengers.
- [Passenger] What is going on?
- [Passenger 2] (indistinct)
outside.
- [Narrator] The pilot
kills the engines
as law enforcement is called in.
- [Narrator] But
this incident
- [Passengers] Is far from over.
- [Narrator] It was
just another day
at Las Vegas's
McCarran International
until this man
rushed the runway.
- [Narrator] And
is now on the wing
of a stationary aircraft,
taunting passengers.
- [Narrator] Luckily,
air marshals
have arrived on the scene.
- [Passenger] Are they just
gonna tase him right there?
- [Passenger] What are they
gonna do with that taser,
knock him off?
He's gonna fall off.
- [Passengers] Oh, (bleep).
- [Narrator] But before air
marshals can reach him
[passenger gasping]
- There he goes.
- [Narrator] The
man falls 20 feet
and lands on the
concrete tarmac.
- [Passenger] That's
what needed to happen.
Honestly, he wasn't coming down
and he was gonna jump.
He's still conscious.
He just has a little
cut on his cheek.
- [Narrator] As first
responders rush
the man to the hospital,
passengers try to process
what just happened.
- [Passenger] Never had anything
like that happen
on a plane before.
- [Passenger] I mean, she said
she's been in
attendant for 30 years
and has never seen
anything like this.
- [Narrator] After
suffering minor injuries,
the man was arrested
and later pleaded no contest
to a trespassing charge,
serving six months in prison.
[plane engine roaring]
This is the island
of Saint Martin,
where air travel madness
doesn't necessarily go down
on planes or inside the airport.
This beach is so close
to the airport runway,
thrill seekers get their kicks
standing in jet streams
of 150 miles per hour,
which are extremely powerful.
This woman seems to
be having a lot of fun
until she discovers
this impending force.
[plane engine roaring]
As we see that blast again.
Her friend goes first and
barely misses the wall,
but then she slams
right into it.
She walked away unharmed.
But not everybody
has been so lucky.
This improvised attraction has
caused its share of injuries
and at least one fatality.
[plane engine roars]
[plane engine roars]
All is quiet on
this Florida beach.
And then
[plane engine roars]
[woman screaming]
- [Narrator] A World
War II airplane
makes an emergency landing
in the Atlantic Ocean
right in front of
hundreds of sunbathers.
- [Narrator] The restored
1940s military aircraft
was flying at a nearby air show,
when it suffered a
mechanical failure.
The fast acting pilot was forced
to bring the plane down
in the waist deep water,
and he managed to do it
without injuring himself
or anyone else.
- [Witness] Oh.
[woman screaming]
[plane engine roaring]
- [Narrator] Rushing the
cockpit is a move likely
to get any passenger
into big trouble,
but a man reportedly tried it
aboard this flight to Nashville.
- [Narrator] Fortunately,
these passengers were willing
to put the safety of
their fellow travelers
before their own.
Together with the cabin crew,
they bind the disruptive
man's hands and feet.
- [Narrator] With the
disorderly passenger
out of the way,
the plane is diverted
to New Mexico
where authorities remove
him from the plane
and take him into custody.
According to his attorney,
the man was having an
acute mental break.
He was detained,
but later released into
a sober living facility.
[plane engine roaring]
Losing your credit card
or even your whole wallet
is one of the financial
nightmares of travel.
Getting hit with an unexpected
expense is another one,
and it can make tempers flare.
Here, a car valet
at John Glenn Columbus
International Airport
is having a discussion
with actor, comedian,
Faizon Love,
when seemingly out of nowhere
[dramatic music]
Reportedly, the brutal attack
was over a thousand
dollar charge for a car
Love had left in the
airport's long-term parking.
The actor claimed the
valet mouthed off to him,
threatening to push him around,
and Love reacted.
Now the question is,
who will pay the price
for this startling scuffle?
- [Narrator] At John Glenn
Columbus International Airport,
actor/comedian Faizon Love
has gotten into a
physical altercation
with a parking valet,
reportedly over a bill.
The other valets rush
in and try to stop
the "Couples Retreat" star from
beating up their colleague.
The valet reportedly walked away
with a cut above his eye,
and Love was arrested on a
misdemeanor assault charge.
The actor later
pleaded no contest,
receiving a 180 day
suspended jail sentence
and a $500 fine.
[plane engine roaring]
Nothing unusual
seems to be going on
outside this security checkpoint
at Orlando International,
until what sounds like a gunshot
sends the orderly
crowd into a panic.
And when a nearby
backpack starts to smoke,
travelers scatter
in every direction.
TSA officer Ricardo Perez
bravely approaches
the smoking bag
and quickly removes it
from the crowded area.
It turns out the sound
wasn't a gunshot,
but a lithium
battery that exploded
inside the backpack,
causing the cloud of smoke.
The incidents trigger
numerous delays
and nearly two
dozen cancellations.
All passengers, even the
ones already onboard planes,
had to go through
security a second time.
[plane engine roaring]
All is calm at this
airport terminal.
Until travelers notice a man
on the second floor yelling
and cursing outside
an airport bar.
It looks and sounds
like a typical argument,
when suddenly
[crowd screaming]
He drops 30 feet
from the balcony
to the ground below.
Shocked travelers
hurry to assist
the seriously injured man.
The 32-year-old was allegedly
intoxicated when
he took this fall.
[crowd screaming]
He had to be rushed
to the hospital.
But luckily, no one
else was injured
and the man amazingly survived.
[plane engine roaring]
Sometimes it takes just one
person to cause total chaos
for hundreds of travelers.
A plane is taxiing
at Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International
and outside the window,
a nearly naked man
is on the loose.
- [Narrator] It's unclear
why he's on the runway
and stripped down
to his boxer briefs.
But airport cameras
capture the man
running barefoot across traffic
and hopping a fence
onto airport property.
- [Narrator] Passengers
on board the flight
watch in disbelief.
- [Narrator] Atlanta Police
respond within minutes.
- [Narrator] Police
believe the man
may have been under the
influence of narcotics.
He was later sentenced
to community service
and a fine for one count of
second degree criminal damage.
[plane engine roaring]
Once a flight takes off,
it's fair to assume the
only potential troublemakers
are among the
passengers and crew.
Not in this case.
- [Narrator] Multiple
airlines report
seeing the airspace intruder.
- [Narrator] So,
the FBI and the FAA
launch an official
investigation.
- [Narrator] But he
remains unidentified.
[plane engine roaring]