American Fires Flight Attendant After Mid-Flight Assault

A former American Airlines flight attendant is fighting to get his job back, after he was assaulted mid-flight, as reported by WSOC-TV, and flagged by View from the Wing. There are still some questions, though no matter how you slice it, I feel bad for this guy.

American flight attendant assaulted on Las Vegas flight

This incident initially dates back to December 31, 2023, when former American flight attendant Tillman Robinson was working flight AA2470 from Charlotte (CLT) to Las Vegas (LAS). He had been at the airline for 25 years, and had a spotless record up until this point.

While working this flight, he was attacked by a 25-year-old passenger. The passenger was cited for assault, and later completed anger management, which resulted in his record being wiped clean.

As Robinson describes this incident, “he starts putting his finger in my face, he starts yelling expletives, then he pushes me, and then he starts taking swings.” One day after the flight, Robinson was suspended, and then 10 months later, he was ultimately fired, a decision that shocked him.

Robinson states that his union has been working to get him rehired, but so far, efforts haven’t been successful. Robinson believes he was penalized for defending himself during the altercation, saying, “it starts with asking people to step back, move away, turn around, and walk away when they are trying to strike at you.” He says he used all the training he was provided by the airline to protect himself. The 51-year-old is now worried about how he’s going to pay his bills, and a GoFundMe has even been set up for him.

American released the following statement about his incident:

“We take these matters incredibly seriously. After conducting a thorough internal investigation, it was determined the former team member acted in a manner inconsistent with our expectations and defined policies — prior to the altercation and throughout.”

No matter how you slice it, I feel bad for this guy

Based on watching an interview with Robinson, he seems like a really great guy. I actually asked an American flight attendant friend about him, and she knew of this story and had flown with him before, and had nothing but nice things to say. Robinson even has his pilot’s license, and described the job of being a flight attendant as “a blessing, to be able to take advantage of a career in aviation.”

I think it goes without saying that the big question — and the reason he was fired — involved how he defended himself. It’s clear that the passenger was the aggressor, and that Robinson tried to initially deescalate the situation. However, it’s perhaps a little concerning how Robinson said in the interview “what am I supposed to do, am I supposed to take it, would that have made American Airlines feel better?”

It’s also noteworthy how in a statement, American claimed that his actions were in a manner that was inconsistent with the company’s policies, both “prior to the altercation and throughout.” So we don’t know how he responded, but clearly American didn’t like how he reacted to an aggressive passenger.

No matter how you slice it, I feel bad for this guy. He had a good performance record at the airline, and he had been there for 25 years. Flight attendants have dealt with so much abuse from passengers over the years, and they don’t deserve that.

No matter how much training you receive, it’s hard to know how you’re going to react in a situation where you’re being assaulted for the first time in your career (or maybe even life). Some people might have a “fight or flight” response, and it’s really sad that something like this could cause someone to lose their lifelong career, which they enjoyed so much.

Bottom line

A former American flight attendant was fired after an inflight assault that happened on New Year’s Even in 2023. A 25-year-old passenger assaulted the flight attendant, going as far as punching him. However, the airline claims his behavior was inconsistent with the company’s training, both “prior to the altercation and throughout.”

Ultimately I feel bad for the guy. He had a 25-year career at the airline, and was liked by his colleagues. Flight attendants deal with a lot of abuse, and no matter how well you’re trained, it’s hard to know how you’re going to act when you’re being punched at.

What do you make of this American flight attendant being fired?