First class passengers on flight 1802 from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City this past Monday had anything but a relaxing flight.
As reported by Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, a man later identified as Timothy Armstrong of Las Vegas, Nevada was captured berating the crew and passengers.
Passenger Dennis Busch recorded some of Armstrong's unsettling actions.
WARNING: NSFW language
Armstrong was first captured arguing with the crew, accusing them of holding him and the other passengers hostage.
Despite the crew, remaining calm, trying to explain the flight was still in process, Armstrong remained obstinate, insisting the plane was "already grounded."
Armstrong finally gave in to the stern demands of a male flight attendant and returned to his seat, but made a point of condemning the President of the United States before doing so, declaring:
" Joe Biden? Really?"
The videos most disturbing and baffling moment came when Busch captured Armstrong growling like an animal while unsuccessfully attempting to put his mask back on.
Further tirades captured by Busch included Armstrong declaring all the passengers on the flight were "being used as pawns" and the flight crew was being "power hungry."
Armstrong was also captured flipping off the cabin crew, multiple times calling them "f'king bitches."
After the plane was finally on the ground, Armstrong was heard grumbling he "think[s] America is a disgrace." Police officers arrived to escort him off the plane.
When the officers brought Armstrong to his feet, he seemed surprised he was being arrested, but otherwise did not put up a fight.
Perhaps the most telling moment of the video is when the unidentified female passenger sitting in front of Bush threw her head back in relief when Armstrong was finally off the plane.
When interviewed by Fox 13, Busch admitted Armstrong caused "a lot of anxiety" in the cabin every time he stood up.
"You could just feel everyone in the cabin tighten up as he stood up because we didn't know what he was going to do."
While Bush confessed he never felt "in danger," he did confirm he and his fellow passengers were on very high alert, as Armstrong was clearly a "loose cannon".
One moment Busch didn't manage to capture was Armstrong making racist remarks to an Asian female passenger.
As Busch revealed to Fox 13, Armstrong yelled at the woman, who was standing to tend to an issue with her back, to sit down before telling her and her traveling companion they "didn't belong here."
Busch published his raw footage to his Instagram page. Much of the footage was subsequently shared on the TikTok account @tizzyent, who had a field day with Armstrong's disturbing antics.
WARNING: NSFW language
@tizzyent Kevin's on a Plane. @FunnyDenny has the full video.
In addition to commending the crew for staying as calm as they did in the very heated situation, @tizzyent admitted he was quite surprised by the fact this was happening in the first class cabin.
"Ok, genuinely my first thought out the gate was 'why does he have so much leg room?'"
"And then I realized he was in first class and I thought, 'this guy's in first class? Somebody took way too much advantage of the drink cart when it came around'."
@tizzyent also admitted as amusing as he found the video, it must have been anything but funny to the passengers witnessing Armstrong's unwieldy behavior close up.
"Oh man, I know this is pretty funny now, but it's probably terrifying in the moment."
Many TikTokers also found themselves amused more than anything else at Armstrong's belligerence.
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
Others, however, didn't find his behavior to be any kind of laughing matter.
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
@tizzyent@TikTok
After being escorted off the plane, Armstrong was first taken to a hospital for a checkup before eventually being cited for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
American Airlines later confirmed Armstrong's arrest in a statement released to CBS News.
"American Airlines flight 1802 with service from LAX to SLC was met by law enforcement upon arrival at SLC due to an unruly passenger."
"The flight landed safely at SLC where local law enforcement removed the disruptive passenger from the aircraft."
"We thank our crew for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding."
