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15 July, 2021

Plane passengers receive ‘hands on heads’ order for up to an hour in bizarre airline security measure

By Alexandra Coulton

Passengers on an American Airlines flight to Miami were ordered to put their hands on their heads for up to an hour in response to a “possible security threat”.

Twitter user Chris Nguyen, who claims he was on board at the time, posted a video of the incident to the social media platform and said passengers were repeatedly asked not to film on the plane.

Nguyen said passengers were told to put their hands on their heads for 45 to 60 minutes before landing in Miami at 4:42pm local time.

The strange scene unfolded on flight 2289 from Los Angeles to Miami on 7 July. The flight was met by local police upon landing and Nguyen said an arrest was made.

A spokesperson for American Airlines told the Miami Herald that police were called due to a “possible security threat on board”.

“Passengers were deplaned and bused to the terminal, and the aircraft was inspected by authorities,” the spokesperson said.

“Safety and security is our top priority and we apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this caused.”

In a reply to his video, Nguyen posted footage of the Miami airport terminal where the passengers were taken and said they were “forced to wait” after deplaning.

Here's the MIA terminal where passengers were forced to wait after getting off the plane. pic.twitter.com/EKlMuaHQzq

— Chris Nguyen (@imaNguyener) July 8, 2021

A spokesperson for the FBI told the Miami Herald that it is investigating the case.

“We are in contact with prosecutors at the US Attorney’s Office who will decide whether or not to seek criminal charges,” the spokesperson said.

This was the second safety incident onboard an American Airlines flight to be caught on camera last week, with footage of a woman duct-taped to a seat on a flight between Dallas and Charlotte last Thursday.

Featured image source: iStock/Mutlu Kurtbas

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