American Airlines Passenger says AA Threatened to Arrest HER Over Punched Seat
American Airlines Passenger AA Threatened to Have Me Arrested Over Guy Hitting MY Seat!!!
Wendi Williams, the woman whose seat was repeatedly punched on an American Airlines flight, says SHE nearly got tossed off the flight because she refused to delete the video of the encounter.
Wendi tells us a flight attendant handed her a passenger disturbance notice for refusing to delete her video of the man behind her hitting her seat. She says the flight attendant even threatened to remove her from the flight if she didn't delete it. As you can see, the document warns she could be federally prosecuted.
Wendi says she ultimately complied but adds she later found the video in the "recently deleted" folder on her iPhone. She later posted it, and as you know ... it's gone viral.
As for that notice ... it outlines, "threatening, intimidating or interfering with a Crewmember; smoking; drinking alcoholic beverages not served by a Crewmember or creating an alcoholic-related disturbance" ... none of which describes Wendi's behavior, according to her.
Wendi finds the threat ironic since it came while she was recording someone rudely punching the back of HER seat ... simply because she reclined it during their Jan. 31 American Eagles flight, operated by Republic Airways.
She told us on "TMZ Live," the man was punching and shoving her seat way more violently prior to her turning on her phone to capture his behavior. As a result, she has some serious medical concerns.
Wendi says the repeated whiplash may have caused damage, given her medical history. She says she's had multiple back surgeries over the years and has titanium fused to her spine. She's worried the repeated blows might have damaged her vertebrae.
She wants to get an MRI but says it's too expensive. Wendi wants the airline to pony up the dough and cover her medical bills.
As we reported, Wendi also wants the passenger behind her to be identified, so she can press charges for assault. She also wants the flight attendant fired for the way she handled the ordeal -- giving the man booze, and threatening her.
A rep for American tells us they'll continue to look into the matter and that they tried to deescalate the situation by asking Wendi to stop filming. We're told the whole thing started when she first reclined her seat and knocked over the male's drink. The rep adds that the whole thing would not have been an issue if both passengers would have just been respectful to each other.
