American Airlines pilot threatens to divert plane full of Trump supporters to Kansas and ‘dump people off’ during DC-to-Phoenix flight after passengers ‘chanted USA! USA! and refused to wear masks’
- Trump supporters boarded American Airlines flight 1242 on Friday afternoon
- Flight took off from Reagan National in Washington, DC, for Phoenix Sky Harbor
- During flight, some of the passengers started chanting ‘USA! USA! USA!’
- Video shows pilot tell passengers that he would divert plane to Kansas
- ‘We will do that if that’s what it takes, so behave, please,’ pilot is heard saying
- American Airlines said some of the passengers refused to wear face coverings
- Flight departed on time, landed in Phoenix ahead of schedule without incident
An American Airlines pilot threatened to divert his plane and dump a group of pro-Trump passengers in Kansas if they didn’t ‘behave’ during their flight from Washington, DC, to Phoenix on Friday.
The incident took place on American Flight 1242 which departed Friday afternoon from Reagan National Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor.
Video posted to Twitter shows the passengers in the cabin chanting ‘USA! USA!’
At one point, the pilot becomes fed up and tells the passengers on the loudspeaker: ‘This is the way it’s gonna be… it’s a four and a half hour flight to Phoenix.
‘We’ll put this plane down in the middle of Kansas and dump people off – I don’t care.
An American Airlines pilot threatened to divert his plane and dump a group of pro-Trump passengers in Kansas if they didn’t ‘behave’ during their flight from Washington, DC, to Phoenix on Friday
Video posted to Twitter shows the passengers in the cabin chanting ‘USA! USA!’ At one point, the pilot becomes fed up and tells the passengers on the loudspeaker: ‘This is the way it’s gonna be… it’s a four and a half hour flight to Phoenix. ‘We’ll put this plane down in the middle of Kansas and dump people off – I don’t care’
Mindy Robinson, one of the passengers, wrote: ‘Wow. I’m on a plane full of patriots flying from DC to Phoenix and we started chanting “USA” …and the Captain came on said told us he’d drop us off in Kansas if he had to if we didn’t obey their every single rule. American Airlines is everything but American.’
‘We will do that if that’s what it takes, so behave, please.’
The airline told DailyMail.com that passengers had refused requests by airline staff to wear face coverings.
Mindy Robinson, one of the passengers, wrote: ‘Wow. I’m on a plane full of patriots flying from DC to Phoenix and we started chanting “USA” …and the Captain came on said told us he’d drop us off in Kansas if he had to if we didn’t obey their every single rule.
‘American Airlines is everything but American.’
Flight data shows that the plane departed Reagan National Airport on time on Friday and landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor a few minutes ahead of schedule
A spokesperson for American Airlines told DailyMail.com that passengers had refused to comply with request to wear face coverings
A spokesperson for the airline told DailyMail.com: ‘At American, we take the safety of our customers seriously and we value the trust they place in our team to care for them throughout their journey.
‘Prior to departure from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), the pilot onboard flight 1242 made an announcement emphasizing the importance of following crew member instructions and complying with mandatory face-covering policies.’
The airline said that the flight departed Reagan National on schedule and landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor a few minutes earlier than anticipated.
There were also ‘no in-flight issues reported at this time,’ the airline said.