(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) One of the major American airlines backed away from its court filing, in which it blamed a nine-year-old girl for not noticing the hidden camera a flight attendant planted in the aircraft’s bathroom.
A former American Airlines flight attendant was accused of taping his iPhone to the toilet seat and then luring young girls to use the airplane bathroom, the Daily Wire reported.
Initially, the airline’s attorneys blamed the child, saying in a court filing that any injuries the girl suffered were due to her “own fault and negligence, were proximately caused by [her] use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.”
However, on May 23, 2024, the airline distanced itself from the accusation, with an American Airlines spokesperson saying that external attorneys working for the airline had “made an error in this filing.”
“The included defense is not representative of our airline and we have directed it be amended this morning. We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously. Our core mission is to care for people — and the foundation of that is the safety and security of our customers and team,” the spokesperson said.
The family of the 9-year-old child sued American Airlines after the FBI informed them that videos of their daughter were found on the former flight attendant’s phone.
The court filing was amended on May 22, 2024, with the new filing not including the accusation that the girl’s injuries were her fault.
“To blame a 9-year-old for being filmed while using the airplane bathroom is both shocking and outrageous. In my opinion, this is a depraved legal strategy that sinks to a new low. American Airlines should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves,” the attorney representing the girl, Paul Llewellyn, said.
The mother of the girl also criticized the airline.
“How in good conscience could they even make such a suggestion?” she said in a statement through her attorney.
