Delta Airlines issued a followup statement justifying kicking Youtube prankster Adam Saleh and a friend off a flight in London.
Saleh is a 23-year-old American who was born to Yemeni parents.
Saleh uploaded a cell phone video to Twitter.com, complaining loudly that he was being escorted off the plane for speaking in Arabic to his mom on the phone.
But other passengers on the flight — including a friend of former CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien — say Saleh was not talking to his mother on the phone prior to getting the boot.
O’Brien says her friend told her Saleh caused a disruption on the plane, including shouting loudly, which freaked out the passengers who were already on edge due to deadly terrorist acts in Europe.
O’Brien said that her source told her the Delta flight attendants were informed that Saleh was a YouTube prankster.
She tweeted: “A LOT still unclear. But apparently woman sitting near my friend tipped off flight attendants he was a youtube star known for pranks.”
After promising to investigate the incident, Delta released a statement Wednesday night justifying Saleh’s removal from the plane.
“Based on the information collected to date, it appears the customers who were removed sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting. This type of conduct is not welcome on any Delta flight.”
Saleh’s previous pranks on commercial airliners include recording Youtube videos titled “Counting down in Arabic on a plane experiment” and “Arabs on a plane!,” in which he and a friend talk loudly in Arabic while recording passengers’ reactions.
