Passenger In Row Over Seats Claims Airline Tried To Kick Her Off Flight

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The woman whose story went viral after a fellow passenger repeatedly punched her seat during an American Airlines flight was reportedly almost kicked off the flight after refusing to delete the footage.

Wendi Williams had been flying from New Orleans to Charlotte when the unidentified man seated behind her began punching the back of her reclined chair. He had been unable to recline his own seat, and had reportedly punched Wendi’s chair in retaliation.

However, after Wendi called over a flight attendant, they apparently took the side of the man who had punched her chair; giving him a ‘complimentary cocktail’ and acknowledging it was ‘tight’ where he was sitting. They told Wendi to stop filming, later handing her a ‘Passenger Disturbance Notice’.

As reported by TMZ, the attendant even went as far as to threaten to remove Wendi from the plane if she didn’t delete the footage.

The document, obtained by TMZ, stated Wendi could be federally prosecuted if she didn’t comply.

The document then goes on to outline the conditions of the notice, quoting: ‘threatening, intimidating or interfering with a Crewmember; smoking; drinking alcoholic beverages not served by a Crewmember or creating an alcoholic-related disturbance’. Wendi claims she had exhibited none of these behaviours.

Wendi proceeded to delete the video as she was told to, but later retrieved it from her ‘recently deleted’ folder before sharing it on social media.

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Furthermore, Wendi has also told TMZ how the man had allegedly been punching and shoving at her seat in a far more violent way before she began filming. She has reportedly since suffered some serious medical concerns, including alleged repeated whiplash.

Wendi has reportedly endured multiple back surgeries in the past, and has titanium fused to her spine. She’s now worried the repeated punches could have caused damage to her vertebrae.

Wendi has also said she wants to undergo an MRI examination, but says it would cost too much. She now wants American Airlines to cover her medical expenses, and also wants the man to be identified, so she can go forward with assault charges.

On top of this, Wendi wants the flight attendant who dealt with the situation to get the sack, claiming they went about it in completely the wrong way.

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An American Airlines spokesperson previously told the Mirror:

We are aware of a customer dispute that transpired on American Eagle flight 4392, operated by Republic Airways on January 31.

The safety and comfort of our customers and team members is our top priority, and our team is looking into the issue.

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Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.