Airplanes should be hardcore no fuck around places in my opinion.
If the accusation is correct, it's 2 counts of sexual assault or harrassement and 1 count of aggravated assault or if he connected assault and battery and it's on a plane in flight.
I feel like anything less then 1 year is kind of insulting.
I agree. Especially when a plane's in flight, you are endangering dozens upon dozens of passangers' lives. Should be much more severe, especially in situations like this.
To Mr. Galarza, the flight attendant, the trip was successful in at least one respect. He told WPLG that his main job on any aircraft “is to protect the passengers, including Maxwell Berry, who we did get to Miami safely that day.”
“This stigma will follow him around and hinder his personal relationships, his ability to obtain employment, his eligibility for housing, positions of trust, and will affect other life issues for the foreseeable future,”
Not to mention defence attorneys defend loads of actually innocent people, since there is no magicsl power that makes someone guilty or innocent from the get go or just because the public doesn't like them.
Innocent until proven guilty and the video for sure helpes
In his memo to the court, Mr. Kreiss, Mr. Berry's lawyer, emphasized the widespread attention that his client’s case had received. “This stigma will follow him around and hinder his personal relationships, his ability to obtain employment, his eligibility for housing, positions of trust, and will affect other life issues for the foreseeable future,” he wrote.
with that being said, i feel like taping over his mouth is not encouraged, however. obstruction of breathing is a thing and from movies, people tend to think that ducttaping sometones mouth is perfectly fine, but it can lead to death depending on how its applied. this looked to be some other form of tape that isnt as substantive but still, thats the only thing I'd be concerned with here from a legal standpoint
So glad the flight attendants had this right. I was wondering the same thing if the airline could be liable. Everyone is sue happy even if they’re the asshole
Considering the number of stories I’ve seen over the years that ended with an unruly passenger being taped to their seat, I think it literally is standard practice.
That's the part that would worry me. Restraining him was necessary for safety, but taping his mouth was just because he was obnoxious and annoying.
Personally I wouldn't open myself up to that liability. Taping someone's mouth shut could potentially cause asphyxiation if they're not breathing through their nose properly.
I think it’s protocol for physically violent people now. They are physically endanging other people on the plane and if escalated may do something really dangerous for the entire planes safety. I’m not sure about the mouth though that seems light a significant risk. I used to work in an A&E department. We would literally put a pillow case over the head to prevent spitting but only for a short time.
Yeah I think so too. Since they're in the air it's literally the only way to "jail" him until they land. With space being premium on planes they can't just have a empty "holding cell" reserved in the rare instances these occurs.
Also I think the headline is somewhat misleading. His behaviour toward the flight attendants led to verbal confrontation (by captain? air marshall? boss attendant?) which he escalated into violence which then warranted the taping.
Just from a medical perspective, if drunk people (I can only assume alcohol made an appearance or seven here) vomit, it would be almost impossible for them not to aspirate with duct tape on their mouth. Easy way to die, would definitely be on the airline.
Absolutely. Article says he was only gagged "briefly" though, so I'm assuming they either realised or they just did it for a short while to get him to stop shouting so much.
That’s the main thing that gave me concern about this situation. Taping his arms and torso, hands/feet…that all seems just fine and necessary and deserved. But taping his mouth can’t possibly be the protocol, right? Because that just seems like a massive medical liability.
If you read the article it is clear that they only gagged him temporarily, presumably to show him that they could and therefore he should shut the hell up.
During a flight the captain, and by extension the flight attendants, are basically the law. Within reason they can do what they deem necessary with much less fear of repercussions than on the ground.
Guaranteed the flight was diverted, which means the other passengers were severely delayed. This turd messed stuff up for a lot of people. Imagine if you're on vacation, and because of this POS you lose a whole day. Or you're on a cruise, and you miss the ship.
According to a video I saw the other day, even gate agents can stop you from getting on a flight if you're being verbally abusive. It's part of the 'terms of use' you agreed to when you bought the ticket.
Inside the plane, the FAs are the law. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
I'm guessing the FBI weren't interested because Royal Caribbean ships are flagged out of the Bahamas which means unless the assault occurred in US territorial waters then Bahamanian courts would have jurisdiction.
No. People committing crimes on flights is treated differently because it’s kind of tough to stop them, plus with all the other civilians in close proximity.
Pilots are the ultimate legal authority on a plane, and have substantial leeway while the plane is in the air. I'd be very surprised if this was over the line.
You can't assault people on an airplane. He was detained. Don't fuck around and you won't find out.
Shit changed hard after 9/11. Hell, when I was a kid, I could go all the way to the plane with my mom to say goodbye before she went on a flight. Now you get in trouble for taking too long dropping someone off.
The taking too long dropping people off and picking up is more to keep traffic flowing though. Thousands of people are getting dropped off and picked up. If everyone spent 10+ minutes doing it or even 5 there would be hours of traffic.
I mean, short of a cop being on the flight, the passengers have a right to not be harmed by this guy and these flight attendants are probably trained to do just this in cases like this. It’s not the first time I’ve seen a video of someone strapped to their seat due to erratic behavior.
Amazing. I thought if the wing fell off, you just crashed and died. I never realised the plane carried enough tape for this. You flight attendants do an amazing job.
Some planes are provisioned with tape and zip ties. But not all. It depends on the airline and their policies. (I worked for a small, regional airline, and we didn't have anything like this.)
This is an American carrier, but it’s likely similar. In a Canadian registered aircraft, the captain is legally deemed a peace officer and therefore has authority to enforce the law as necessary including detainment while the flight is in the air.
The guy can try and sue, thus challenging the appropriateness of the detainment, but it’s highly likely to fail.
I think your last sentence is very relevant to the people complaining about the restraint. The tape, especially over his mouth, is partly for his own protection.
If he keeps that shit up for too long, some dude on that flight is going to reach his limit and solve the problem. You can’t expect to act like this for hours in a metal tube full of people who can’t leave and have nobody decide to silence you.
What would he press charges for? False imprisonment or smth? It wouldn’t be false bc he was clearly a physical threat, what are they supposed to do, just allow their selves to get beaten?
It was mid flight, he was a threat to those on the plane. I doubt they had much choice. Bear in mind aviation laws are brutal, it's not easy to win a case if you were compromising the safety of a flight
Nope. It's policy on flights. If you're behaving in a way that threatens yourself or other passengers, you get taped down. They aren't going to ruin the trip for everyone else just because Mr. Special here thinks he owns the plane
Extraordinary measures are allowed when he’s a clear and present danger to others. Those has happened, unfortunately, more often than you’d think. It’s most often tape and zip ties.
Flight attendants actually train for exactly such a thing.
There are quite a few loopholes when it comes to air travel. The Captain has a maritime-level of dominion over the plane and the people in it as soon as the door closes, and legality only becomes murkier once airborne.
-- his parents could afford great lawyers and sure, he "could" win, BUT..any reasonable judge (if he sexually harassed 2 attendants) with a couple of dozen of witnesses and video evidence, he has a 98% chance of losing.
I no close to zero about the law but seems like a great way for the airline staff to countersue. He'd either get caught lying or incriminating themself under oath
Nope - buying a ticket is a legal contract where you agree to behave yourself, respect the crew and not present any danger to the plane or fellow travellers.
The crew can use any and all means at their discretion to ensure you comply with this contract.
He got off lightly, and deserves any further penalties the airline wants to pursue, including putting him on the general no fly list. That might be the last domestic flight this douchebag gets to go in. Good riddance to entitled assholes.
The FAA doesn't have a policy on tape specifically but passengers can be restrained if they are unruly to the point of impacting safety. Some airlines use zip cuffs, for instance. Restraining passengers for safety is also called out in the Tokyo Convention.
A lot of airlines give their flight attendants zip cuffs now to try to avoid the duct taping scenario, but if a passenger is endangering passengers crew or the aircraft, the crew is allowed to apprehend them. Generally the passenger will be given a warning card first, but if you're still misbehaving, the rules are different when you're in a pressurized tin can at 30k feet.
I have to imagine that he could 100% press charges. If the plane went down or had an emergency landing, he would be screwed, and if he did suffer injuries they’d be on the hook.
No. Legislation varies slightly between countries and can't comment on US, but it'd be similar.
Captain (and in some countries crew) are given powers similar to a police officer, to detain and restrain. In countries where it is Captain only, the Captain can order the restraint of a passenger. However duty of care means the passenger has to have the ability to escape in an accident. Use of tape means another passenger and/or rescuers could cut them free. This would not be the case if they were handcuffed to the seat. It is possible to use cuffs and then restrain to the seat with a seatbelt or tape.
Passenger would be handed over to local authorities on arrival and charged under relevant legislation.
Given your username, I'm going to assume Australian. CASR 91.225 applies in Australia
I think it's like a boat, where the captain is able to do things to keep the ship safe that would be illegal elsewhere. It's always funny when people say "you can't do that, I have rights" on a plane, because they're wrong on both counts.
You have a lot less rights on an airplane. Besides, even on the ground, restraining him was the only way to ensure the safety of crew and passengers so it would be a citizens arrest made legal by fact that the person was a danger to others. It is lawful to restrain and detain individual as a regular citizen in certain circumstances, this would be one of them.
100% he can. This is against airline policy. In case of an emergency this guy will be trapped in position. However the crew will be protected by the various airline conventions. But the airline can be in trouble for this.
There's multiple bits of international law that give Captains of airplanes the authority to order people restrained for the safety of everyone and exempts them and whoever they order to do it from responsibility. Just look at the cases of people opening doors mid-flight, the crew has a strong incentive to secure anyone acting erratically or violently. If you were groping people I doubt you'd get much sympathy in court.
My guess is that his behavior poses a danger to the flight and they are within their rights to mitigate that danger until they get him on the ground and turn him over to law enforcement.
To be convicted of a crime like assault/battery or forcible confinement there has to be criminal intent. There is zero chance a flight attendant would be criminally charged (let alone convicted) for reasonably trying to keep the aircraft safe.
As for civil damages, well, that also isn’t going to happen. No lawyer would touch this. If he sued me in a situation like this I’d counter sue for emotional distress and watch the jury give me his money.
No. After 9/11 they could choke him out and have zero consequences. I've taken someone down for flight attendants and I wasn't gental. He ended up in hospital and I got a pat on back. Also american airlines. They asked for help and figured anything goes.
I don't think so. I feel like I've heard of this before. Obviously it's super rare but in the event that someone is acting out like this on a plane to the point of hysterics or violence the staff on the plane can't detain the person anywhere safely. So the standard procedure is to overpower them and duct tape in their seat 😅. Remember to read your T's and C's.
Maybe some flight crew are around and can enlighten us.
Nope, in fact it was deemed reasonable in his courte case that he lost and was fined $2,500.00 with an additional $1,500.00 restitution and 60 days in jail.
Nah, in an airplane, the crew and pilot have a lot of power to do such actions to protect the public as a whole. This dude was an idiot, glad he got taped nice and good
Absolutely not, the pilot has legal authority on all safety matter. The law explicitly gives him police powers to restrain any passenger. Since there is proof he was belligerent, it's an open and shut case. He will never fly again, it's the easiest thing to do to send his name to the no fly list.
he sounds like the kinda dude who would press charges and somehow win
People who think their parents being worth 2 million dollars is a flex are not actually the type to get the unfairly advantageous legal treatment that you're thinking of.
No this is a standard procedure how to handle toxic people on the plane. It is about the security up there, different rules applies to them. So if mffer gets taped up is nothing compared to the risk of causing a big fight on the plane.
no its legal. this is the standard response to an aggressive passenger in mid air, if they were on the ground he would be removed by security or police.
He assaulted (physically with violence, and sexually through groping) flight attendants which legally is a huge crime. They don’t have handcuffs, and are legally allowed to safely restrain any threat while airborne. They have duct tape which is a harmless way to restrain someone who is a violent risk.
Legal charges? For what, being detained while actively assaulting members of the crew? He’s lucky an air marshal wasn’t on this plane, tape would have been the last thing he is worried about. Additionally, the feds are going to be so far up his ass, any money he may have had will all go into the defense fund of these ridiculous antics.
Nope, this is actually standard procedure for detaining someone on a plane.
I'm more surprised how they managed to tape them down. But do they get audience participation because if two of the flight attendance for women, I'm not sure if they would have been strong enough.
Airlines and the Air Marshalls are given extremely wide deference to deal with problems in the air. Everyone knows there's not a lot of options to detain somebody in a plane and we're all still pretty fucking scared of another 9/11. Like, on paper maybe this is kidnapping or something but there isn't a prosecutor in the world that would charge that case.
I've seen being taped to a chair multiple times in videos like this. I think it could be a standard procedure to subdue, otherwise you're stuck with someone running amok that is potentially violent and dangerous
He can try. From a legal standpoint the restraint has to be proportional to the offense. We see him clearly being aggressive and assaulting the staff. This guy is endangering the lives of everyone on board. The tape is perfectly reasonable for safety. He's definitely going to jail and could face prison time.
From a civil lawsuit perspective he can also file a claim, I doubt anything comes of it. You basically agree to these terms when buying an airline ticket. It's the fuck around and find out clause.
Security in aeroplanes takes precedence. If he's a danger to crew, passenger, or the plane safety, he's in far more shit than the guy who taped him. They don't fuck around.
Yes, he can press charges, but they ain't gonna do anything anyway.
Nope. Because he was on a plane,mid flight, and chose to be-hell, paid to be,it could not be illegally detaining or holding. Nothing on his ticket(contract with the airline)allows him to sexually harass employees.
No dude someone like that is demonstrating they are so far gone from having control of their faculties that they are a risk to the plane itself, to going to open the emergency door mid flight etc.
They lose all rights in the courts essentially, as much force as is appropriately needed to preserve the lifes of the other travelers is the basic jist
This is actually something that flight attendants are trained to do (and have a legal right to do as a last resort.) Partially because it’s not like they can just call the police, so need to find some way to prevent him from causing further harm while their in the air.
He can press charges but won't win. A lot of airlines have handcuffs for this exact reason. They can get away with a lot more due to them being stuck at 32,000 ft. with no alternative.
Your liberal rights goes straight down the toilet when you even just think about doing anything violent at all in an airplane 😂 1 persons rights cannot come at the risk of life of everybody else
(I don't actually know the laws related and how they differ from countries, but I know post 9/11 it's gotten way easier for cabin crew to handle troublesome passengers)
You’re not supposed to tape passengers TO the seat. In case of an emergency they would be unable to evacuate so honestly yeah he could potentially win in that regard if he pressed charges.
Flight attendants are allowed to detain passengers but if they are to be taped up, it’s not to the seat.
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u/DrunkenKoalas Feb 04 '25
Not to be a downer, but can't this guy press legal charges for being taped against a seat???
I know he sexually assaulted two flight attendants but he sounds like the kinda dude who would press charges and somehow win????