An American Airlines passenger who kicked and spat at flight attendants and passengers and tried to open a cabin door before being taped to his seat has been sued by the Federal Aviation Administration for $81,950, the largest fine ever issued by the agency for unruly behavior.
The passenger, Heather Wells, 34, of San Antonio, was traveling first class from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 7, 2021, when about an hour into the flight she ordered a Jack Daniel’s and became agitated and said she “wanted to get off” the plane, according to a lawsuit filed June 3 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Ms. Wells began running toward the back of the plane, where she knelt in the aisle and began “speaking incoherently to passengers, before crawling back into the main cabin,” the lawsuit states.
When a flight attendant responded, Ms. Wells “became verbally aggressive and told the flight attendant that she would hurt him if he didn’t get out of the way,” according to the court document.
