Tiffany Miles American Airlines passenger forces plane to make emergency landing after charging cockpit demanding drink to calm down her nerves.
Define flying etiquette? An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in North Carolina after a female passenger in first class allegedly tried to charge the cockpit — after becoming upset she hadn’t been served a drink.
American Eagle Flight 3444 carrying up to 50 passengers, and traveling from Jacksonville, Florida, to Washington, DC, was diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Wednesday afternoon, circa 3:40 p.m. ‘due to a security concern involving an unruly customer,’ the airline said in a statement.
Tiffany Miles, 36, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge and was released on a $1000 bond, CNN reported, citing the Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification.
Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Police claimed Miles ‘tried to breach the cockpit’ and was ‘being somewhat restrained by the flight crew and other passengers,’ according to CNN.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the female passenger charged at the cockpit door.
‘I am allowed to get upset,’
The incidence according to the FAA constitutes as a Level 4 disruption, whenever an ‘attempted or actual breach of the flight deck,’ occurs.
Miles later countered that she was heading to the bathroom after getting into an argument with a flight attendant.
‘I am allowed to get upset,’ Miles was heard saying according to WRAL. ‘Getting angry is not against the law.’
Passenger Kara Rosario told ABC 11 that Miles became upset and irritated when she wasn’t being served her drink.
She said another passenger got up to help the flight attendants as they tried to calm the woman down.
‘He heard the commotion and he went up to first class to assist and see if he could help at all,’ Rosario told ABC11.
‘He wasn’t a marshal at all or police officer, just a citizen who was trying to help defuse the situation. You could feel that we were in it together and were willing to do what was needed but the gentleman behind me was the first to get up and take matters into his own hands,’ she said.
Miles said she flew often and never had an issue before. Nevertheless the first class paseenger conceded anxiety issues which she likes to combat with alcohol.
According to Miles, she tried to ask for a cocktail before the flight took off. She said she offered the flight attendant a tip, but the attendant said there was no drink service and refused to accept the tip.
During the flight, Miles asked for a cocktail again and was told there only to be told that there was no alcohol being served on the flight.
‘I have anxiety,’ Miles said. ‘So, sometimes I need a cocktail to cool off and calm down.’
Upon the plane landing, the FBI Charlotte Field Office descended to the airport.
‘The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will consult with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of North Carolina to determine if federal charges will be filed,’ FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch said.
An American Airlines passenger punched a flight attendant in the head after passengers say he was told not to use the first class bathroom. Alex Tung Cuu Le was taken into FBI custody and faces up to 20 years in prison. American says he’s now banned for life. pic.twitter.com/4co74wWTOc
— Sam Sweeney (@SweeneyABC) September 22, 2022
2,300 reports of unruly passenger behavior in 2022
And then there was the perfunctory assurance statement from American Airlines too.
Offered American Airlines rep Derek Walls in a statement: ‘Safety and security are our top priorities, and we thank our customers for their cooperation and our team members for their professionalism in managing a difficult situation.’
Miles is due in Wake County District Court on March 27 to appear for her misdemeanor charge.
The FAA said in a tweet Wednesday that they are working on a rule that would require new planes to have a second barrier to the flight deck.
Last year there were more than 2,300 reports of unruly passenger behavior, according to FAA statistics. Of those, 80 cases were referred to the FBI for criminal review.
