Divert A Flight, Go Broke

By Robert McGarvey

It was reading about two American Airline flight diversions in one day – caused by misbehaving passengers – that made me think: we have to stop this and it has to stop now.

How many lives need to be disrupted before we – carriers, passengers, and the federal government – resolve to act to stop it?

In many cases, the passengers on a diverted flight lose a day, maybe two or three, may incur the costs of a hotel, and may have to buy meals.  The out of pocket isn’t that much. But that lost day will never be restored, 

The thought fries me into wanting action.

From the government, of course.

If history is a lesson, however, buckle up because your newborn will be shaving before the feds act decisively.

But maybe now we can do better.  Especially since the FAA says last year it investigated 1000 cases of unruly passengers – more than the previous seven years combined, according to the New YorkTimes.

That’s why we are seeing more stories about diversions. And it’s why we need be cogitating on how to end this mayhem in the air.

What put my mind in this action mode is, Exhibit A, an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington Dc was diverted to Kansas City after a passenger attempted to force open the cockpit door and, failing that, he tried to open an exit door.

What happens if somehow an Exit Door is opened at 30,000 feet? Esquire has asked and answered that question: “Pilot and Vietnam War veteran Pete Jordan knows exactly what happens when a pressurized cabin decompresses 30,000 feet in the air at 300 to 600 mph: ‘There’s no oxygen, and it gets damn cold in a hurry.’ An open door would release the cabin’s ball of pressure, causing an immediate “suction explosion.”

Meaning passengers could be sucked out into the sky.

Experts say that it has become impossible to open an Exit Door on a commercial jet at 30,000 feet.  They are probably right. Let’s hope they are.

But, personally, that logic would not reassure me in the moment if I were watching a nearby raving maniac trying to pry open the door.

In this case, it took three flight attendants and three passengers to subdue this man.  One of the flight attendants apparently used a coffee pot to keep bashing him on the head.

Exhibit B – another American Airlines flight – took off from Phoenix, heading to Honolulu and – for unexplained reasons but due to a “disruptive passenger” the plane u-turned and returned to Phoenix.  

Both incidents occurred Sunday, February 13.  

Let’s stop waiting for the government to solve this growing problem.

Let’s do that ourselves.

When I write that I think of the 15 years of hijackings of planes that were diverted to Cuba.  The first was in 1958, the end of the period came in 1973 when Cuba agreed to treat hijacking as a crime and also agreed to return the planes to the carriers (although fees could be imposed).  There have been occasional incidents even into this century but with that 1973 treaty the party was over.

Also in 1973 metal detectors were installed in airports.

The hijacking era was definitely at an end.

But I think we can stop today’s diverted plane phenomenon much quicker than will happen if we wait on the government to act.

How? Money talks, sometimes loudly. Let’s make it howl.

First: urge carriers to pursue legal action against the unruly passenger, meaning file a civil suit for damages. Amounts awarded that I know vary from $50,000 to six figures. For instance: UK based Jet2 billed a passenger $106,000 for allegedly trying to open exit doors in flight which prompted the pilot to return home.  

Understand I am no lawyer and I do not offer legal advice but I will tell you what I have decided to do if I am ever on a flight that is diverted due to an unruly passenger: 

Step two: aggrieved passengers on a diverted plane should think of their own lawsuits against the perpetrator.  To quote from Mainor + Wirth, personal injury lawyers in Nevada: “If an individual urinates on, harasses, or otherwise assaults a passenger, that passenger may pursue civil claims against the individual for physical injuries, property damage, and emotional distress.”

If nothing else, file in small claims court.  In Maricopa County, Arizona for instance the maximum claim is $3500.  But multiply that by 10 and it’s $35,000. By 100 and it becomes $350,000.  Will such sums be collected? Very probably collection will be a difficult matter.

But the headlines will be the persuader.  Divert a plane and, between passenger and carrier claims plus federal fines and you are out a fast half million dollars.

Will this work? I admit I am unsure.  Most of the diverters I read about seem utterly unhinged, probably impervious to the fact of personal bankruptcy as a consequence.

But in my mind we have to try something.  If there are better ideas, tell us.

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Update: On February 11, aboard a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Portland, OR, a 32 year passenger attempted to open an exit door because he hoped passengers would video him as he spouted anti vaccine nonsense. He was restrained by flight attendants; the flight was not diverted. Nonetheless, the risks that incidents will multiply are real if inflight antics are used for purposes of political theater (cf. the Cuba hijackings). #stopthestupidity