MIAMI, FLORIDA – JULY 20: An American Airlines plane takes off from the Miami International Airport on July 20, 2023 in Miami, Florida. The company reported a record quarterly revenue of $14.1 billion, a 4.7% increase from the prior year. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:58 PM – Wednesday, May 22, 2024
American Airlines has released a new court filing, stating that a previous statement by them that seemingly blamed an underage girl for being filmed discreetly by a pedophilic flight attendant was an “error” on their part.
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In a recent filing, the airline—which is facing lawsuits following allegations that a male flight attendant recorded underage girls in airplane restrooms—argued that one of the young girls should have known that the toilet area contained a recording device.
After their defense statement prompted “intense media and public backlash” on Tuesday, American Airlines announced the next day that it was changing the court filing, citing an “error.”
“Our outside legal counsel retained with our insurance company made an error in this filing,” the airline said in a statement. “The included defense is not representative of our airline, and we have directed that it be amended this morning.
“We do not believe this child is at fault, and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously,” American Airlines added. “Our core mission is to care for people, and the foundation of that is the safety and security of our customers and team.”
The lawsuits against American Airlines began after a former flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, 36, was arrested in connection with purportedly recording a 14-year-old girl in a plane’s bathroom on a Boston-bound flight.
Thompson had personally directed the child to use a different restroom than the one she was waiting for, but after walking her towards the restroom of his choice, Thompson also noted that he first needed to “fix something” inside before she walked in. Thompson is also accused of possessing additional videos of four other underage female passengers, one of whom is as young as nine years old.
According to the family’s lawsuit against American Airlines, she was surreptitiously videotaped while using the restroom during the flight last year. Thompson “was a danger,” according to the family, and the airline should have caught on to this.
The amended defense on Wednesday no longer has the following section from earlier this week: “Defendant would show that any injuries or illnesses alleged to have been sustained by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, were approximately caused by Plaintiff’s own fault and negligence.”
An American Airlines attorney had also previously written about the 9-year-old girl using “the compromised lavatory” on the plane: “She knew or should have known [it] contained a visible and illuminated recording device.”
Soon after, the family of the 9-year-old girl released a statement, following the filing.
“American Airlines has clearly faced intense media and public backlash over their blaming of a 9-year-old for being filmed,” said attorney Paul Llewellyn, a partner at Lewis & Llewellyn LLP. “To claim that they filed the ‘wrong’ answer is simply not credible. But the bell cannot be unrung.
“They should never have taken such a position in the first place,” the lawyer added. “American Airlines claims to care for people. If that is true, why have they not even bothered to reach out to either family since the incident came to light? Actions speak louder than words.”
At a hearing held on Monday in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, Thompson was charged with federal offenses related to the Boston flight. He entered a not guilty plea to one charge of attempting to exploit minors for sexual purposes and one charge of possessing child pornography that shows a prepubescent minor.
Thompson returns to court on July 1st.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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