Twitter Dispute Over American Airlines Landing Procedures Turns Nasty

A freelance journalist and New York Times contributor’s baseless Twitter suggestion that the captain of her American Airlines flight was intoxicated soon caused outrage and resulted in public humiliation.

It has been said that the quickest way to find accurate information on social media is to simply post inaccurate information on social media. Asking followers how to fix a flat tire might garner a few suggestions, but post the wrong information about how to fix a tire and a detailed explanation of the correct procedures, citing expert sources is sure to follow in spades.

Freelance writer and occasional New York Times contributor Ji Hyun Lee appeared primed to learn this lesson the hard way, when she made a series of false and possibly libelous assertions about the way the pilot on her American Airlines flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) was flying the plane. Unfortunately, the journalist didn’t seem very receptive to the inevitable constructive criticism that came next.

A defiant Twitter tantrum soon unfolded like a car wreck in slow motion. It was days later before Ji Hyun Lee admitted defeat by deleting her most combative posts. Thankfully, Paste Magazine managed to archive screenshots of her social media humiliation for posterity.

The first inflammatory post came at 10:36 on the morning of June 29. “Was the @americanair pilot drunk when he decided to go off route and into countless sharp turns?” she posted along with an image of her flight’s somewhat circuitous approach to JFK.

Irresponsible accusations about pilots drinking on the job aside, aviation experts stepped in to helpfully explain to the journalist that passenger planes cannot always approach the runway in a straight line when flying in one of the busiest airspaces on the planet. Those who dared to correct the red-eye passenger’s skewed view of events were ridiculed by the writer and at least a few, including Flyer Talk’s own Sarah Steeger reported being blocked for their trouble.

I got blocked, too. My lord what thin skin.

— Sarah Steegar (@FATravelWriter) July 4, 2017

“We can whole-heartedly assure you the pilots were following directions from the local atc tower,” American Airlines quickly replied in an understated response to Lee’s unfounded accusations.

We can whole-heartedly assure you the pilots were following directions from the local atc tower.

— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) June 29, 2017

Since this falling-from-grace story played out on the internet, not all of the responses were quite as gentle as the response from the carrier. Heather Poole, best selling author of CRUISING ATTITUDE: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama and Crazy Passengers and perhaps the most famous flight attendant in the sky was slightly less patient than her employer. “Was this @nytimes lifestyle reporter drunk when she shared this tweet?” Poole tweeted in response to Lee’s original post.

Was this @nytimes lifestyle reporter drunk when she shared this tweet? https://t.co/zhvSagBQUA

— Heather Poole (@Heather_Poole) July 4, 2017

Self-described astrophysicist-in-training, Deborah Malone provided a few example images of similar flight patterns for Lee to compare with her recent experience. “Here are some more sharp turns for your entertainment,” she wrote in her tongue-in-cheek reply. “Otherwise known as regular everyday approach patterns in busy airspaces.”

Here are some more sharp turns for your entertainment. Otherwise known as regular everyday approach patterns in busy airspaces. pic.twitter.com/0EpKccwNtj

— Deborah Malone (@DeborahCMalone) July 4, 2017

The more the dissatisfied passenger and now-infamous writer attempted to defend her position, the deeper a hole she managed to dig for herself.

“You might want to look into who the ppl were at the Atc tower that directed 200 plus passengers to be taken on a circular route around ocean,” she replied to American Airlines’ tweet. “An aborted landing shld not have involved such radical shift toward the ocean. Still no explanation from @americanair.”

When aviation experts (some with decades of experience in the commercial aviation field) pointed out that it was very unlikely that her flight was involved in an “aborted landing,” Lee dismissed these opinions outright. In some cases, she insisted that those who disagreed with her snap assessment of the pilot’s fitness for duty were “paid trolls.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]