The woman who exited an American Airlines flight after a tirade about a passenger who she claimed was “not real” has spoken about the viral incident for the first time.
In the viral video, which circulated after the 2 July incident, the woman could be seen screaming at fellow passengers about her reasons for exiting the plane while standing in the aisle of the aircraft.
“I’m telling you, I’m getting the f*** off, and there’s a reason why I’m getting the f*** off,” she could be heard yelling as she walked up the plane aisle. “And everyone can either believe it or they can not believe it. I don’t give two f***s.
“But I am telling you right now, that motherf***er back there is not real.”
On Tuesday 7 August, the woman was identified as Tiffany Gomas, a 38-year-old marketing executive who lives in Dallas, Texas, by The New York Post, which reviewed police documents of the incident.
According to the outlet, the incident, which took place aboard a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, and which forced the plane to return to the gate, was reportedly sparked over Gomas’ missing AirPods.
Gomas has now broken her silence over the tirade, with the 38-year-old speaking to the Daily Mail from her $1.6m home in the Lakewood neighbourhood of Dallas.
According to Gomas, who Insider reports was listed as the owner of Uppercut Marketing, LLC, an advertising firm, on a since-deleted LinkedIn, her life has been “blown up” since videos of her profanity-filled plane rant went viral last month.
“My life has been blown up. It’s frightening. Things go viral and everything changes,” Gomas told the outlet, adding: “No one knows anyone else’s story, and no one should judge. No one knows what it’s like.”
Gomas also alleged that she has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the incident, with the 38-year-old claiming: “They’re staking out my house. They’re staking out my neighbours. They’re going through my mail.” She did not specify who she meant.
The marketing executive also claimed that “so much of what’s out there is inaccurate,” but declined to elaborate further, according to the Daily Mail.
As she was exiting the plane, Gomas told passengers: “And you can sit on this plane and you can f***ing die with them or not. I’m not going to.”
The comments prompted concern from flight attendants, who “felt the aircraft needed to be rescreened,” according to police documents reviewed by The New York Post.
“The female then started claiming the aircraft was not safe and did not want the aircraft to leave due to her believing it would not make it to its destination,” the 2 July complaint states.
The other passengers aboard the flight were then forced to exit the plane so they could be screened through security again, The New York Post reported, adding: “TSA personnel arrived at the scene to conduct a full rescreening of the aircraft” after Gomas’ comments.
The complaint also reportedly states that Gomas was “distraught” by the time officers arrived at the gate and was attempting to board the plane again. She then reportedly refused to speak to Dallas-Fort Worth Department of Public Safety police.
Gomas was allegedly given a “verbal criminal trespass notice” by the airline manager and told that she was denied boarding and “needed to depart the secure area,” according to the documents reviewed by the outlet.
However, Gomas continued to try to “come back through TSA screening and into the boarding area multiple times,” the documents state, noting that she was eventually found sitting on the curb outside the terminal, where she was waiting for an Uber.
According to The New York Post, she was given a ticket for criminal trespass notice, which she allegedly refused to sign, and did not show police her ID. The complaint also states that Gomas was never formally arrested or taken into custody.
In a statement to The Independent at the time, a spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed the incident had taken place aboard a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, and that the incident involving the “disruptive customer” had forced the plane to return to the gate.
“The flight was met at the gate by local law enforcement and the customer was removed from the flight. Safety and security are our top priorities, and we thank our customers for their understanding and our team members for their professionalism in managing a difficult situation,” the airline said.
Following the viral tirade, which has been widely circulated on social media, Gomas’ Instagram was made private and her LinkedIn profile was taken down.
The Independent has contacted Gomas and the Dallas-Fort Worth Department of Public Safety office for comment.
