(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Whenever I get on a plane now, I size up my surroundings and the flight crew like I’m Jason Bourne walking into an embassy. “That guy looks like he’s got back problems. I can probably vault her. Yes, I’ll take a pillow, I can use that to trip up Nurse Ratchet over there.” I have to just assume now that at some point the flight crew will try to throw me off the plane, mid-air, because I had the audacity to ask for extra Cheez-Its for my kids. I won’t be jettisoned easily.
Of course, going fully Harrison Ford in Air Force One is only one way to survive the friendly skies these days. Harvard Law student Briana Williams has a different strategy: she’s going to sue. The New York Daily News reports that Williams — who was flying to Atlanta with her four-month-old daughter — was booted off of an American Airlines flight after a dispute involving her stroller. American gate-checked the stroller, then began what would be a five-hour delay. The plane returned to the gate, and the passengers were told to de-plane.
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Williams asked for her stroller back. The flight attendants refused. Williams refused to get off the plane without the stroller (again, she’s got a four-month-old). Then the pilot came out. From the Root:
The pilot was called. She said he asked her where she worked and that she refused to answer (because, relevance?).
According to witnesses, the pilot then called police to kick Williams and her baby(!) off the plane.
“He was very disgruntled and aggressive,” said Williams, who says she remained calm.
Williams and her baby eventually had to sleep in the airport.
American offered Williams 25,000 miles because its pilot “deviated from the standard.” Williams declined. Instead, something tells me that pilot is about to find out exactly what kind of work Williams wants to do:
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Williams said she plans to take legal action so that pilots can’t eject someone on a whim.
“This type of unregulated discretion is a segue into discriminatory policy,” she said.
“The pilot put me in a potentially dangerous situation with law enforcement as a young, black woman, saying that I was a ‘threat,’ ” Williams said. “This type of rhetoric paralyzes the African-American community, and I want to ensure that policies are put in place that regulate the pilot’s discretionary abilities.”
Let me give you a word of advice. Always bet on black!
Mom claims she was booted off American Airlines flight after baby stroller dustup [New York Daily News]
#FlyingWhileBlack: Harvard Law School Student Booted From American Airlines Plane With Infant [The Root]
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.