Video of an altercation on an American Airlines flight Friday shows the moment right after a flight attendant violently grabbed a woman’s stroller and hit her with it, and narrowly missed the baby, according to multiple witnesses.
According to witnesses, the woman, who is from Argentina and was flying internationally, brought her stroller on the plane not knowing the rules to gate check. When the flight attendant attempted to remove the stroller from the plane, there was an altercation which resulted in the stroller striking the woman and nearly hitting her child.
One of the other passengers watched the incident and confronted the employee. The airline employee then challenged the passenger to hit him.
After the video went viral, American Airlines condemned the incident and promised to open an investigation.
"What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers," American Airlines said in a released statement. "We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family's needs are being met while she is in our care."
"The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care," the statement added. "In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.”
American Airlines added that they took "special care" of the woman and her family, and upgraded them to "first class for the remainder of their international trip."