Seriously. Right? It makes me wonder if any of them have a ******* clue? I can't believe her lawyer would run with this.
I have a friend who suffered from a bit of anxiety to begin with. Then he worked for many years as ground staff (cust. svc) for a US major. On a daily basis he heard about various incidents, accidents, "scary" reports from the airline & union (security / terrorism alerts), etc.
He was always full of stories about lap babies hitting the ceiling during turbulence, cabin crew getting clobbered by wayward trollies, various smoke / fire incidents, bird strikes, engine failures, alleged "dry runs" by middle-eastern persons, etc. By the time he left the airline he was a paranoid wreck about flying and it took him awhile to recover.
So I can see an F/A after 22 years of "seeing everything" thought her number was up that day, over something relatively benign. It happens -- a form of accumulated PTSD, a real mental illness. The "shoot down" comment fits into this developed paranoia.
Or alternatively, it's all just about $$$. Who knows?