1. Headline
  1. Headline

Video: Flight attendant rants at complaining passengers

  1. Closed captioning of: Flight attendant rants at complaining passengers

    >>> let's begin this half hour with a flight attendant who lost his cool after passengers started complaining about a long delay. it was all caught on tape. nbc's ron mott has details on this. ron , good morning to you.

    >> hey, matt, good morning. if you've flown more than a couple of times, you start to tune out announcements flight attendants make. not on this flight. the flight attendant was trust traited, not because seat backs and tray tables with weren't in their upright and locked positions. american eagle flight 4607 from raleigh-durham, north carolina was grounded for five drama filled hours because of weather. the delay pushing the crew to its time limit for the day.

    >> if you have [ bleep ] otherwise you're going to have to fly with jose.

    >> passengers dave abels flying with his nine-year-old daughter caught the incident on video.

    >> the more people spoke up, the more he was getting angry at us and crazy.

    >> the line for takeoff was so long and tensions so high, the pilot eventually returned to the gate.

    >> unfortunately our hands are tied. we cannot leave until that's obtained.

    >> reporter: tempers reached a boiling point and cops showed up.

    >> he doesn't care. that's what he got on the intercom and told everybody.

    >> serrano and passengers were questioned by the police but no one was arrested.

    >> the captain wasn't back here.

    >> we're going to finish this discussion on the jet way.

    >> the passengers from indie rock band several fellow travelers deserve some of the blame.

    >> i think jose probably suffered the brunt of a lot of the frustration of the banks. i noticed at one point it seemed like he was tearing up. i could tell he was upset.

    >> reporter: parent company american airlines said passengers were threatening and unhappy. but said it had been a long day for our customers on board as well as our crew. we do apologize. eventually the flight was canceled. nbc reached out to serrano for comment. american airlines spokesperson said the incident is under review, they do not discuss personnel matters. they sent an e-mail from a first class passengers who said passengers were verbally abused.

    >> ron , thank you very much.

updated 6/29/2012 11:23:30 AM ET 2012-06-29T15:23:30

A flight attendant on a weather-delayed plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York City yelled at passengers and challenged them to leave the plane if they dared.

  1. More from TODAY.com
    1. Groom-less bride poses in sweet solo wedding photos

      One bride decided to pursue her dream wedding photos, even though her husband was stationed abroad in the Air Force.

    2. ‘A hot meal can make people cry’: BBQ volunteers comfort Oklahoma victims
    3. Joe Francis: 'Retarded' jury should be 'shot dead'
    4. Joy amid tornado's destruction as owners find lost pets
    5. PTC angry after Ke$ha drinks pee on TV

The incident involving American Eagle flight attendant Jose Serrano was caught on video. Flight 4607 to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., was delayed for five hours on Monday.

Port Authority police were called to the plane.

American Airlines apologized for the incident. It said in a statement it did "not believe that the passengers' frustrations were always met with the level of service that we expect from our people."

Serrano was removed from the plane. There were no arrests.

The incident recalled a similar episode involving a JetBlue attendant last year who swore at passengers and pulled the emergency chute on a flight after it landed at Kennedy Airport.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Discuss:

Discussion comments

,

Advertisement

More on TODAY.com

None
  1. Ryan Brenizer

    Groom-less bride poses in sweet solo wedding photos

    5/22/2013 8:03:05 PM +00:00 2013-05-22T20:03:05
None
  1. Mom, infant among tornado victims identified

    A mother who sought shelter in a 7-Eleven that collapsed under the force of tornado winds, killing both her and her four-month-old son, are among the victims whose names were released by Oklahoma's chief medical examiner Wednesday.

    5/22/2013 6:22:44 PM +00:00 2013-05-22T18:22:44
  2. 24 dead, 13,000 homes wrecked, $2B in damage
None
  1. Mom in labor as twister destroys hospital

    5/22/2013 11:13:07 PM +00:00 2013-05-22T23:13:07
None
  1. Jodi Arias: ‘I’ve had difficult dreams about Travis’

    video Jodi Arias sits down with Diana Alvear after her day in court. In this extended interview, she talks about her comments in court and her thoughts of suicide.

    5/23/2013 12:04:41 AM +00:00 2013-05-23T00:04:41
  2. Arias jury to judge: What if we can't reach a decision?
None
  1. TODAY

    video Okla. victims find pets, photos through social media

    5/22/2013 9:13:42 PM +00:00 2013-05-22T21:13:42