A flight attendant on American Airlines flight 2332, a loaded MD-80 out of Dallas for Chicago Friday morning, launched into an intense tirade that culminated in her being restrained and the aircraft returning to the gate. As the event unfolded, the flight attendant’s agitation grew until she was being held down and screaming “Get outta the plane! Get outta the plane!”
One passenger said the flight attendant mentioned during the episode “that she was bipolar and that she had not taken her medication,” the Chicago Tribune reported. The attendant first spoke more calmly over the aircraft’s public address system saying, “We are not taking off. We’re having technical difficulties. We’re heading back to the gate.” Another attendant countered that claim and the situation’s decorum quickly dissolved until the first flight attendant was being held down and screaming “Get outta the plane! Get outta the plane!” At least two passengers moved forward from the rear of the cabin to the front where the altercation was taking place to assist. The aircraft returned to the gate, personnel was swapped for a fresh crew and the flight to Chicago was then carried out uneventfully. Two of the flight’s original crew members were taken to the hospital with injuries.
