Worst Passenger of the Week: A Child-Hating, Homophobe Goes on a Rant

Every Friday, FlyerTalk looks back at the week’s most charming individuals. While there are always plenty of contenders for our Worst Passenger of the Week award, only one lucky flyer can take home the glory. Here are this week’s winners.

Third Place – The Fentanyl is for Dandruff Control and the Heroin is for E.D.

A passenger arriving at Miami International Airport (MIA) from Colombia allegedly managed to pack several felonies in his Dopp kit. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the 43-year-old was arrested after a CBP officer searched his baggage and discovered heroin hidden in two shampoo bottles and fentanyl packed into a container labeled as “male enhancement formula.” The “grooming products” are said to have tested positive for drugs at the scene.

The shampoo-bottle-hiding-spot might not have been as clever as the purported drug smuggler believed. CBP officers routinely find hard drugs stashed in the innocuous looking consumer product. In one recent case, officers even seized nearly 62 pounds of liquid methamphetamine disguised as horse shampoo. Smuggling potentially deadly fentanyl in a male enhancement product (that a passenger might have good reason to want to hide from prying eyes out of sheer embarrassment), seems like a much more solid plan from the start.

Court documents reveal that Juan Carlos Carbonell Canas was also carrying more than $14,000 in cash on his person when he was stopped at the airport. An arrest report noted that the money was “in denominations consistent with narcotics sales/proceeds.”

Authorities say the accused drug mule has been arrested on drug trafficking charges. He is also reportedly being held on an outstanding immigration hold.

The Runner-up – “Liberty” Denied by the Feds

Security screeners were forced to deny a passenger at Norfolk International Airport (OLF) her “Lady Liberty”-engraved handgun. According to the TSA, the patriotic flyer arrived at an airport security checkpoint with a unique firearm in a carry-on bag, but the gun, engraved with the image of the Statue of Liberty on the handle, was packing more than just symbolic power – the weapon was loaded with six 9mm rounds.

It appears that in this case, Lady liberty and Lady Justice won’t be crossing paths. Although TSA alerted local law enforcement that a flyer had attempted to bring a loaded gun onto a commercial airline flight, police decided not to cite the armed air traveler criminally. The Homeland Security agency points out, however that the freedom-and-gun-loving-passenger could still be subject to serious federal penalties (although she likely won’t be).

The pistol-packing passenger appears to be in good company. According to the TSA, the 18 guns discovered at OLF so far this year already breaks the record of 16 handguns seized in 2015 – a year which saw more guns brought to the airport than the two previous years combined. The agency says 10 handguns were found in passengers’ carry-on and personal items at the airport’s security checkpoints last year.

The Winner – “That’s not My Kid – I Don’t Give a F**k!”

A U.S. Airlines passenger’s hateful and vulgar verbal attack on a fellow air traveler is for some reason making much bigger headlines in the U.K. than at home after video of the disturbing inflight tirade went viral online. The shameful events caught on tape are said to have occurred during a domestic flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Friday.

While the footage captures only a brief glimpse at the profanity-laden rant, eyewitnesses on the flight told reporters that the angry shouting went on non-stop for nearly an hour before the plane eventually reached its destination. The unidentified woman responsible for the not-so-pleasant flight can be heard hurling insults and threats at crew members, seat mates and even nearby chidden.

A lowlight of the wild, scattershot hate speech includes the woman lashing out after being told she was scaring small children in the cabin (who can be heard crying in the background).

“That’s not my kid, I don’t give a f**k!” the unidentified rude troublemaker shouts. “Shut your f**king mouth, it’s got nothing to do with you!”

The irate flyer seems to focus most of her rage on a single fellow passenger across the aisle. She repeatedly makes a point to refer to his skin tone and an apparent belief that her rival is a homosexual.

“You’re a gay-looking-ass n****er!” she screams in the direction of her nemesis. “You’re a white skin ass n***er!”

The video culminates with the out-of-control flyer cupping her hands in front of her mouth to share with the entire cabin of a list of racial stereotypes she has observed during her travels. The nightmare passenger then stands up in an apparent attempt to intimidate her new-newfound-arch-enemy with a final threat.

“Stop talking s**t and do something!” she challenges her would-be adversary. “Do something!”