SNASRQ

- automatic doors closed on me at AA gate in MIA late flight
-stuck in door screaming for help
-AA ground crew stares "not my job"
- door suddenly opens
- head to paid first class seat, and request to speak to Captain
- captain asks me to step off plane to discuss my concern
- says "I'm sorry" twice, not satisfying my question about safety and responsibility
-threatens with "throwing me off flight for making a scene"
-AA senior agent boards and threatens "cops and cuffs"
- cops board and escort me and fiance' off flight
- nice cop writes up police report,
-aa put us up in hotel, and next day flight

Can anyone tell me about similar experience? Recourse? Miami Dade county who owns the auto doors, airport, or AA

Yoshi212

Could you elaborate a bite more on the instance that brought this about. The automatic doors do they close you off from accessing the plane or did they enclose you in an area where you were prevented from an exit?

The Ground Crew not my job comment is worthy of a complaint. The pilot being dismissive is possibly worthy of a complaint but also depends on the initial situation that made you want to complain. As for the rest I'll await your response with more detail before commenting.

Often1

Please explain in detail what exactly happens. All we have are a series of disjointed statement such as "stares 'not my job'". That does not give anybody here much to help you with.

Also, did you raise your voice to the Command Captain? What exactly did you say?

SNASRQ

Thank you. Sorry, I'll try to be more specific.
Early boarding flight fr MIA to TPA
Partner and both 69 yrs old, me lifetime AA platinum5th or 6th passenger to board plane
Pass thru boarding pass check into tunnel like area, the pass thru automatic open/close doors(was told by AA employee while left arm was stuck in door that door is responsibility of Miami dade........all while I was stuck! Damage ego more than anything.
We continue to board, on way to my seat I ASKED the attendant that I wanted to speak to Captain about a safety issue.
I went to my seat, and captain indicated to attendant to have me exit the plane onto the jetway.i told him what happened not loudly.
He said he was sorry. I said , "well, what can I do about it" he again said he was sorry and added that I was making a scene he threatened to have me thrown off the flight. I may have laughed at the absurdity of the situation......calmly went back to my seat. Some senior AA agent came up to us and told me to get of the plane and that the captain had ordered me off the plane.if I didn't immediately get off he would call the police and cuff me.
Which he did. Police wrote that up..
We came home next day to find our one checked bag safely arrived. Perfect trip except for Captain..........I don't want to say anything too negative on line, but I'd be happy to talk to FAA about all this.

Mwenenzi

Just what has the Captain on an AA aircraft to do with auto doors of a passenger gate tunnel leading to an aircraft?
Answer: absolutely nothing.
I am with the Captain on this non issue.

AA ground crew stares "not my job" Reads to me as if ground agent did not speak. So you are making assumptions?

TWA884

This is more of an American Airlines customer service issue than a travel safety or security issue, so I'll move this thread to the American Airlines | AAdvantage forum.

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

flyerCO

The attitude used during conversation with pilot is really what matters. The AA crew was correct that this had nothing to do with AA. The fact you kept pushing this onto another AA employee makes me wonder how you came across.

SpinOn2

I am sorry but no pilot is just going to throw you off the plane for no reason. I am getting the feeling your rendering of the events is dulled down, with all due respect.

Mwenenzi

There would have been a reason.

Finkface

So did you get off the plane at this point? Or you refused, and that's when they then called the police to cuff and remove you? If you refused to get off and they were forced to make good on their threat to call the police to have you removed, then I have to say that's where my sympathy dies. If you did get off when told, then not sure how the police got involved.

orbitmic

Like others, I really fail to see why you wanted to speak to the Captain at all. Do you think there is anything he could have done about an airport incident and don't you think they have enough on their plate in preparation for take off?

From your own description, it seems that he apologised to you twice about the situation and that was still not what you wanted. Rightly or wrongly, he seems to have felt you were in too high a state of excitement to be fit to fly and if you complain, he'll just say that, quite likely with crew members testifying in his support.

In short, you are unlikely to have a successful course of recourse and you are probably best off putting this behind you and moving on.

JonNYC

Very well put, agree 100%

Not to mention the described events-- even if 100% accurate-- do -not- = "AA pilot answers safety question with police arrest"

UKtravelbear

What was your actual 'safety question' of the pilot?

Pilots do not lightly have passengers offloaded so there is something in your attitude that upset them. You can bet that they would have written up a full report PDQ about this.

well that's your right but you better be more forthcoming about what actually happened and what was said than you have been on here.

MARINFLL

I agree with Finkface, the captain would have nothing to do with any safety issues outside the aircraft (gate, terminal, etc.). If you were asked to exit the aircraft and didn't, then the blame is on you. If you were calm and polite to the captain, merely explaining the safety issue about the door, so he could let the maintenance people in the airport know, then I doubt you would have been removed from the aircraft. Perhaps you were more angry than you perceived, and the captain didn't want someone like that on his aircraft.

ThreeJulietTango

The AA personnel involved were correct. Maintenance of the doorway is the responsibility of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and is outside of American Airlines' control. I also do not believe that the Federal Aviation Administration could do much—if anything—about the issue either. Although this is clearly a safety issue, it is not an inflight safety issue and the captain's ultimate authority does not extend beyond the aircraft.

My advice is to contact MDAD directly. Here is their general contact information: http://www.miami-airport.com/contact.asp

More specifically, you may want to email or call the Director of Terminal Operations or the Director of Facilities Management