Summary
Orthodox Jewish passenger Yisroel Liebb filed a federal lawsuit claiming a United Airlines pilot forcibly removed him from an airplane bathroom during a January 2024 flight from Tulum to Houston, exposing his genitalia to passengers.
Liebb said he was experiencing constipation and had been in the bathroom for about 30 minutes when the pilot broke the lock and dragged him out.
After landing, Customs and Border Protection officers detained Liebb and another passenger, allegedly making derogatory remarks about their religion.
United Airlines and CBP declined to comment.
The link that you were sent is regulations that apply to “certificate holders,” pilots in this case. The requirement that passengers “shall occupy” their seats means that if the plane lands, and the pilot was aware that someone wasn’t in their seat during the landing, the pilot has violated §121.311(b). It’s a big deal. The licensing authorities take things like this super seriously, and a pilot who deliberately violated one of those regulations would at a bare minimum have a black mark on their record that they would have to explain when applying for any future job.
Also, no one is saying the pilot is stupid enough to let the plane crash because someone was in the bathroom. Stop using absurd strawmen and please refrain from it in the future.