The criminal complaint by the air marshal is revealing, and disturbing.
1. Cabin-crew members at CLT requested AA management to take this unfortunate woman off the roster before departure. I'm guessing that this does not happen very often. Yet their (well-justified) apprehensions were dismissed, apparently without investigation. Whatever happened to "If there's any doubt, there's no doubt?"
2. On the leg to FRA, she physically assaulted colleagues at least twice, and a federal air marshal again at least twice. Two of the four assaults (the slapping of the CC member, and the forceful shoving of the air marshal) were violent by any possible definition. How is it that this was not reported to AA management, local law-enforcement and the TSA immediately after landing at FRA? Or if it was, why was no action taken on those reports? In particular, why did three federal air marshals allow a person they had certain knowledge to be violent and unstable to reboard the aircraft the following day? Is that not precisely what they are there to prevent? If they do not have the power to do so on their own authority, what are they for?
3. 14 CFR 91.3 (a). The same questions apply to the captain. It beggars belief that he was not informed of what transpired on the CLT-FRA leg. On what basis did he conclude that it did not compromise flight safety to let any person who had behaved in such a way onto the aircraft for the return leg, far less to act in the capacity of a crew member?
AA management has, without doubt, some pretty serious questions to answer. But so, it seems to me, do the other parties involved.
Last edited by Blind Squirrel; 1st Dec 2015 at 19:46.