The family of a 14-year old girl who found an iPhone taped to the back of a toilet seat on an American Airlines flight is speaking out about the incident, and they believe an airline crew member attempted to record their daughter.
The girl was flying from Charlotte, NC to Boston on September 2 when she was told by a male crew member to use the first-class bathroom where he had just been. He told the girl that the toilet seat was broken but she could still use it.
Her family said in a statement that he went back into the bathroom after she left.
After using the toilet, the girl noticed the iPhone taped to the toilet seat, adhered with a sticker that read, "seat broken."
The girl took a picture of it with her own phone before exiting the restroom and showing her family.
The family wrote:
“These events have left our daughter — and entire family — shocked and profoundly disturbed."
The family told KHOU 11 that the mother immediately went back to check for the phone, but it was already gone.
You can hear more below.
Family claims attendant on flight taped phone to toilet seat to record teen girl youtu.be
People learning of the story were appalled over the incident.
The girl's father told KHOU 11:
"There are a lot of things we worry about when we travel now, but one of them is not that your child is going to be exploited and targeted for the procurement of child pornography."
The family has not filed a lawsuit yet, but according to Yahoo!News, law enforcement officers escorted a male flight attendant off the flight when it landed.
In a statement, American Airlines claimed they “take this matter very seriously and are fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation, as safety and security are our highest priorities.”
@jman42/Bluesky
@SecretaryBurgum/X
@Doug Ellin/X
@evanrachelwood/Instagram