An American Airlines Flight Attendant Was Assaulted, Then Fired
The case of Tillman Robinson is an unusual one that involves a flight attendant who was fired after he was assaulted by a passenger.
Moreover, Robinson, 51, a 25-year Charlotte-based American Airlines flight attendant, who began his career with US Airways in 2000, says he was suspended twice, and called back twice, before he was fired for good in May 2024.
He has the support of many co-workers, who have begun a GoFundMe page that so far has raised about $17,052 from 344 donations. In interviews this week, he said, 'The outpouring from not only my American Airlines family but other friends, family and even complete strangers have really given me fresh air to breath in my lungs and wind against my sails. It has really gotten me through my darkest of hours. I feel so much better today than I did three weeks ago.'
However, he lost a job that pays about $80,000 annually and he now works parttime as a security guard at youth football game. After two hearings, he awaits an arbitration hearing sought by his union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. No date has been set.
Neither the union nor the airline has much to say about Tillman's case: their brief statements are included later in this story.
Here is a review of the incident, based on the interview with Robinson, who is about 6'2' and 250 pounds. Perhaps his size weighed against him in the airline's evaluation of the case.
On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, 2023, Tillman was one of four flight attendants on an American Airbus 321 flying Charlotte-Las Vegas. When boarding started, he screened passengers as they boarded. He noticed a white man, medium build, bearded, with a hat pulled down over his face. The man, mouthing the word 'bathroom' repeatedly, made his way against traffic to the forward lav. Tillman asked him to allow passengers to board. The man complied.
So nothing special happened, but a few hours later, as Tillman and another flight attendant served drinks, the man, seated in Row 18, ordered a small bottle of rum, drank it straight, and shoved the bottle back at the other flight attendant, who was not collecting trash at the time. 'I told her that was the same guy I was dealing with at boarding.' Tillman said.
On landing in Las Vegas, 'people were in a festive mood,' Tillman said. The passenger and his female companion disembarked with considerable separation between them. As the passenger reached Tillman, standing in row eleven near the flight attendant jump seat, 'He turns to me sharply, sticks his finger in my face, and said, 'I should – you up, that was so – unnecessary.' I said, 'Back away, get off the plane.' He had his finger in my face. I used the back of my hand to move his finger out of my face. He pushed me; I pushed him back.
'Then he started trying to slug me. I was boxed in a corner: I had the jump seat to my right, passenger seats to my left. My only recourse was to protect myself in a defensive posture: in recurrent training they teach you self-defense so that when we need it, we can utilize it. Other passengers on the plane were yelling to the guy 'Leave him alone, get off the plane.'
'When he got to the front, I walked up there to make sure he got off with his female friend. The pilots were gone and the cockpit door was open and there was a female flight attendant at the front and it was my responsibility to protect the integrity of the aircraft. As I got close to the door, instead of stepping off, he turns around, his finger in my face again, and he continues his assault on me. He starts taking swings. So I started swinging back. One of the passengers broke it up. But then the passenger came at me again and the fight spilled onto the jet bridge. It was broken up again and he left. I asked the other passengers to let the gate agents know to send the police down. The police came. They asked me if I wanted to press charges: I did. They asked for a description and they found him in baggage claim.
'We all went to the station, I filed a police report. A passenger who witnessed everything gave a report. He appeared in court, was found guilty, and pled his case down: he had to take an anger management class and he was put on probation for a period of time and then everything was wiped clean.'
As for Robinson, his trial continues, 15 months after the incident.
The day after the incident, he deadheaded back to Charlotte. When he arrived, an inflight manager gave him a suspension letter. He was brought back to work a week later, then suspended on March 26, then brought back to work on May 1, then suspended on May 2. He was terminated on Oct. 15.
A few days after the incident, Robinson filed an ASAP (Aviation Safety Action Program) report, which enables airline employees to voluntarily report safety incidents. It was accepted by a committee representing the airline, the union and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Robinson had two hearings, the first on March 20 and the second on Nov. 26. He attended the first along with representations from APFA and the carrier. He did not attend the second. Now he awaits an arbitration hearing.
How does Robinson explain the airline's actions?
It is possible that his size weighs against him. Also, as a 25-year flight attendant, he is relatively highly paid and could be replaced by someone younger. Another factor, Robinson said, is that he did not get along with the Charlotte-based flight attendant who worked the Las Vegas flight as the lead: she has spoken against him in describing the incident to the airline, he said.
Additionally, he said, 'My union feels like the company is using me as a sacrificial lamb to make a point after the union sent a letter to the FAA complaining about how little American does for flight attendants in cases of assault. There are so many incidents. They felt like America is always trying to sweep things under the rug because assaulting a flight attendant is supposed to be a federal offense. '
'American doesn't protect their flight attendants in the way you would think they would,' he said. 'From my perspective, when they say they have your back, they must be way back.'
In an email, American said, 'We take these matters incredibly seriously. After conducting a thorough internal investigation, it was determined the former team member acted in a manner inconsistent with our expectations and defined policies — prior to the altercation and throughout.'
APFA said, in an email, 'This case is still ongoing and currently moving through the grievance process with the System Board of Adjustment. To respect Tillman's privacy and protect the integrity of the case, we're not able to share details or comment.'
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