An American Airlines flight had to be met by law enforcement on arrival at Miami International Airport (MIA) late on Friday evening after it was reported that a female passenger was undressing herself and acting indecently. The report of the passenger resulted in one of the strangest ACARS messages in recent memory.

On Friday, September 11, American was operating scheduled flight AA1779 between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Miami and was running approximately 90 minutes behind schedule. The flight was making its way south when the flight attendants alerted the cockpit of the unfolding situation in the cabin, as the female passenger in 9D started to undress.

Female Passenger Undresses On American Airlines Flight

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The crew of the Airbus A319 aircraft sent an ACARS message detailing that the lead flight attendant reported a passenger in row 9 had completely undressed herself. As reported by AirLive, the woman allegedly ‘began engaging in explicit, indecent acts in full view of nearby passengers‘. The full ACARS message is below:

FA1 REPORTS THAT PAX IN SEAT 9DEF HAS TAKEN OFF ALL HER CLOTHES AND WAS SEEN BY OTHER PAX TOUCHING HERSELF IN AN INDECENT MANNER. FOM SAYS THIS MUST BE REPORTED TO IOC/OSM AND HAVE LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Flight crew quickly swung into action and followed the expected standard security procedure in the flight operations manual, with the crew immediately contacting the American Airlines Integrated Operations Center (IOC), which then requested law enforcement to meet the flight on arrival in Miami.

The Flight Was Not Diverted

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American’s scheduled service to Miami on Friday continued without diversion, and after the two-hour and 25-minute service, the plane touched down at 11:32 PM. The aircraft taxied to Gate D2, where it was met by officers at the airport’s North Terminal. The female passenger was then taken into custody, and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the incident.

In instances such as these, with unruly passengers, it triggers immediate safety and security protocols, and while flight attendants would first attempt to verbally calm the passenger, it can sometimes lead to physical restraint if the passenger becomes aggressive or starts touching staff or other passengers.

Crew are authorized to use reasonable force and restraints only as a last resort. It remains unclear what steps were taken onboard for the incident on AA1779. Simple Flying has reached out to American Airlines for comment on the incident; however, an airline spokesperson could not immediately be reached.

Aircraft Involved: N737US

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Reviewing flight data for the incident, the 26-year-old A319 had pushed back from the gate at Baltimore at 9:09 PM, around two hours behind its scheduled departure time of 7:10 PM. The service took two hours and 14 minutes to reach the gate in Miami, having landed at 11:23 PM, an hour and a half behind its scheduled arrival time of 9:55 PM.

​​​​​​The aircraft first entered service in June 2000 and was delivered to US Airways on June 14. It operated for US Airways until the airline’s merger with American in April 2015.

The unusual incident onboard the scheduled flight to Miami highlights the ongoing challenges that crew can face when handling disruptive passenger behavior. The American Airlines crew handled the situation safely and were able to continue the flight to Miami without further disruption. The arrival of law enforcement at the gate following the ACARS message ensured that the female passenger could be escorted off the plane and taken in for questioning.