NEW YORK (AP) – Orthodox Jewish passengers say United Airlines pilots forced him out of the plane’s bathroom while experiencing constipation.
Yisroel Liebb of New Jersey explained his trip through unkind skies This week in a federal lawsuit The officer told the airline and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that he handcuffed the plane on the landing.
Liebb and fellow Orthodox Jewish travelers said they were forced to miss a connecting flight to New York while US customs and border guards paraded them through airport terminals and left them on their phones to search for their luggage.
“CBP officials responded to reports of interference on the flight at the request of the airline,” CBP Civil Service Assistant Hilton Beckham said. “Due to the ongoing lawsuit, we cannot provide further comment.”
United Airlines declined to comment. Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers representing Liebb and other traveller Jacob Sebbag.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court, Reeve said he was in the bathroom behind the plane for about 20 minutes on Jan. 28.
Liebb said he explained his gastrointestinal predicament and assured Sebbag that he would be out immediately. Sebbag then relayed it to flight attendants, the lawsuit says.
About ten minutes later, Liebb still felt sick, so the pilot approached Sebbag and asked him to check on Liebb, the lawsuit says. The pilot then cried out at Liebb and immediately yelled out of the toilet, the lawsuit said.
Reeve tells the pilot that he was finished and he told him he was off for a while.
According to the lawsuit, the pilot broke the lock, forced the bathroom door, pulled his pants out along with his pants still around his ankles, exposing his genitals to Sebbag, flight attendants and nearby passengers.
Liebb and Sebbag said the pilots had arrested them and pushed them back into their seats, threatening to make statements about their faith and “Jewish behavior.”
After a two-hour flight landed in Houston, the man said he had escorted and escorted half a dozen customs and border guards from the plane.
When Reeve asked why they were in custody, the officers handcuffed him and replied, “This is not a county or a nation. We are home. You have no right here.”
The man said United booked them for free on a flight to New York City the following day, but savings from complementary tickets were lost as they had to pay for the overnight hotel stay and food during the delay.
