Throw the Book at Her

Remember the American Airlines flight attendant who went off a few days ago while on a plane at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, ranting over the plane's public address system that she couldn't be responsible for the plane crashing? What ever happened to her?

Far as I can determine, nothing. Police and DFW authorities announced at the time that no legal charges would be filed against the flighty flight attendant, and no news reports I've seen have said they were. Her employer seems to be keeping quiet about the matter. No public word on whether the ranter - who terrified passengers on-board an AA flight scheduled to take-off for Chicago - has been fired, suspended, fined, slapped on the wrist or sent to her room.

This decidedly non-professional professional should be sacked at a minimum and possibly charged. If a passenger had done this, the TSA would be all over him or her, and rightly so. Why any less for an airline employee?

The FA, who has not been identified, was caught by cell-phone videos going on and on for some 15 minutes before passengers shut her down and she was escorted off the plane. The flight took off 80 minutes late and no passengers were hurt. That's good, but two other flight attendants were reportedly taken to hospital for treatment.

Coming, as this incident does, not so very long after a JetBlue Airways FA cursed passengers, swigged a beer and deployed an emergency exit chute at New York JFK Airport, it gives a frequent flier pause. At least that guy was fired and had to show up in court to explain his antics. Why not this person? With memories of Sept. 11 painfully fresh, this type of disruption is more than an inconvenience to passengers.

Cabin crew are, after all, trained to remain calm in stressful situations and paid to help, not frighten, customers. There must be consequences for incidents like this. Throw the book at her.