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Airline Passenger Gets Hit With the Biggest FAA Fine Ever, Unruly Behavior Is Punished

If you fly and plan to make trouble in the sky, then prepare to be met with some hefty fines from now on. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is not forgiving unruly passengers any longer. Here’s what happened to someone who bit, spit, and pushed some people around while in the air.
Airline Passenger Removed from Delta Flight 6 photos
Photo: Police Cam Encounters on YouTube
Woman Duct-Taped to a SeatAmerican Airlines AirplaneEmergency Exit Door on a PlanePassengers Try to Immobilize the Man that Wanted to Open the Cockpit DoorWoman Gets Removed from Her Flight By Police
Last year, a woman made the news after she was filmed being duct-taped to a plane seat. Initially, this sparked some outrage online because no context was provided by the video published on the popular social platform TikTok. People thought it was a bad joke or an abuse.

Later, American Airlines cleared the air and explained that the woman accidentally fell into the aisle mid-flight. One female member of the cabin crew rushed to help her, but she immediately became aggressive toward the airline employee. The passenger pushed the flight attendant and almost hurt her in the process, then rushed to the cockpit wanting to open the door.

Two other cabin crew members came and stopped the woman from disrupting the pilots. They wanted to immobilize her, but she became even more aggressive. The passenger “spit at, headbutted, bit and tried to kick the crew and other passengers," said the FAA, according to Reuters.

They managed to stop the woman from causing panic onboard by duct-taping her to an isolated plane seat, where she remained until the marshals came.

The investigation finished and the FAA decided a fine of $81,950 is appropriate.

Another passenger, but this time on a Delta flight, has also received a $77,272 fine for trying to kiss the passenger sitting next to her, refusing to take her seat, and trying to exit the aircraft mid-flight. A permanent ban from flying has been discussed, but not approved.

A man also tried last year to open the emergency exit door on another flight to New York last year, but he was apprehended by other passengers. His case is still under review. He was a flight attendant on leave and his behavior might cost him his job too, besides a possible upcoming fine.

Just last month, another American Airlines passenger wanted to open the cockpit door, but it was locked. He then wanted to open the emergency exit door while the plane was still flying. Fortunately, the man was immobilized by flight attendants and was later arrested by the Police.

The FAA currently has the power to issue penalties up to $50,000 for just one person or a small business, if the situation demands it. But there is no limit when it comes to violations of the commercial space statute or regulations. Also, the maximum civil penalty the FAA may impose in commercial space cases is $120,000.

If these limitations are exceeded by the FAA’s decision to fine a person, then the penalties can be negotiated, and the authority will compromise as it sees fit. If the parties don’t agree on the sum that needs to be paid, then the prosecution will start. Civil matters are timely notified, so there’s enough room for an appeal at the DoT or NTSB.

Aggressive airline passengers have multiplied in the U.S. since the authorities imposed a couple of safety measures. People want to keep traveling but without respecting the rules. The FAA doesn’t tolerate unruly behavior anymore, after the Capitol incidents in 2021. Still, there were recorded 7,060 cases just last year.
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About the author: Florin Amariei
Florin Amariei profile photo

Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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