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A passenger demonstration when an unpopular foreign politician is boarded is defused by the flight crew prior to departure without the aid of law enforcement.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 568711 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200212 |
| Day | Tue |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : mia.airport |
| State Reference | FL |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | ground : parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight attendant : on duty oversight : flight attendant in charge |
| Qualification | flight attendant : currently qualified |
| Experience | flight attendant time airline total : 14 flight attendant time total : 19 flight attendant time type : 20 |
| ASRS Report | 568711 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | cabin event : passenger misconduct |
| Independent Detector | other flight crewa |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : anomaly accepted |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Passenger Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | Passenger Human Performance |
Narrative:
It was almost departure time, when most of the passenger in aft main cabin started clapping and chanting loudly in foreign. The commotion started when a passenger took her seat. She is an unpopular government official in a foreign country. Most of the passenger in main cabin wanted her off. I immediately got on the PA and assured everyone that the air carrier is neutral, and our job is to get you to your destination safely, but cannot unless we have all passenger's cooperation. We (5 flight attendants) and the captain managed to get everyone settled down once they knew we were serious about not going if they kept it up. The rest of the flight was uneventful. I comp'ed headsets for all in main cabin and decided not to sell alcohol to avoid any possible volatile behavior. Once we landed, our crew stayed at a hotel by the airport instead of going downtown. There were gunshots, banging on pots and pans, and loud protests all night. We were very glad to be leaving for home the next morning. I would like to add that we did fear for our safety.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PAX DEMONSTRATION WHEN AN UNPOPULAR FOREIGN POLITICIAN IS BOARDED IS DEFUSED BY THE FLC PRIOR TO DEP WITHOUT THE AID OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Narrative: IT WAS ALMOST DEP TIME, WHEN MOST OF THE PAX IN AFT MAIN CABIN STARTED CLAPPING AND CHANTING LOUDLY IN FOREIGN. THE COMMOTION STARTED WHEN A PAX TOOK HER SEAT. SHE IS AN UNPOPULAR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY. MOST OF THE PAX IN MAIN CABIN WANTED HER OFF. I IMMEDIATELY GOT ON THE PA AND ASSURED EVERYONE THAT THE ACR IS NEUTRAL, AND OUR JOB IS TO GET YOU TO YOUR DEST SAFELY, BUT CANNOT UNLESS WE HAVE ALL PAX'S COOPERATION. WE (5 FLT ATTENDANTS) AND THE CAPT MANAGED TO GET EVERYONE SETTLED DOWN ONCE THEY KNEW WE WERE SERIOUS ABOUT NOT GOING IF THEY KEPT IT UP. THE REST OF THE FLT WAS UNEVENTFUL. I COMP'ED HEADSETS FOR ALL IN MAIN CABIN AND DECIDED NOT TO SELL ALCOHOL TO AVOID ANY POSSIBLE VOLATILE BEHAVIOR. ONCE WE LANDED, OUR CREW STAYED AT A HOTEL BY THE ARPT INSTEAD OF GOING DOWNTOWN. THERE WERE GUNSHOTS, BANGING ON POTS AND PANS, AND LOUD PROTESTS ALL NIGHT. WE WERE VERY GLAD TO BE LEAVING FOR HOME THE NEXT MORNING. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT WE DID FEAR FOR OUR SAFETY.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.