American Airlines
© Chris LoftingAmerican Airlines airplane

On Monday, American Airlines flight 1284 turned around and kicked off a two-year-old asthmatic boy, his mother, and his grandmother because the child was suffering from an asthma attack during mid-flight and could not wear the mask properly.


Amanda Pendarvis, the mother, posted on her Instagram story a video of her son who was having an asthma attack and was refusing to put on his mask due to his inability to breathe properly.

Pendarvis described it on her IG story as the "most humiliating/traumatizing experience". Here is an excerpt from her post:

'I do not have the energy to type all the details right now... but I will in the next couple of days. We are finally in peaceful Colorado with my in-laws and I am very grateful for that. But my mom, Way & me just had the most humiliating/traumatizing experience because of a truly evil, power-tripping flight attendant named Carl @americanair.

I'll spoil the ending: He had the plane turned around and has us escorted off to be met by police officers: WHY? Wait for it..... because my 2 year old was not properly wearing a mask.... Mind you, Way is asthmatic. We showed him a negative COVID test Way had yesterday. Told him he has asthma & has never worn a mask before. He did not care that this asthmatic child was literally hyperventilating.

I was not refusing a mask. Nor did I even say I wouldn't try to keep a mask on my son. We were escorted off the plane as I was holding a mask over his little face. I genuinely don't have words.

He got on the intercom to say to the entire plane, "I'm sorry for the delay but we are dealing with a non-compliant traveler."'

A now-viral post is making rounds online. Pendarvis' friend tweeted out screenshots of the video that was posted from her Instagram account.


Her friend continued, "I'd like to say that not ONE person stood up for this mom on the plane. I can't even comprehend seeing an injustice and just sitting quietly. This doesn't end unless we all start standing up against TYRANTS. STAND UP. SPEAK UP. FIGHT BACK."


American Airlines responded to Tiger Lily's tweet saying that they reached out to the family asking for information. But Tiger Lily replied, "That's not enough for me. I'm sure the Biden administration is pleased with your abuse of power but this family will see justice."


American Airline confirmed to National File that the incident was true and the action of the flight attendant was purely based on their policy.

'National File reached out to American Airlines for a statement on the incident, and whether the actions of the flight attendant were acceptable and in line with their company policies, despite the result being the punishment of a family because of uncontrollable health issues of a minor. After publication, American Airlines issued a response to National File that seemed to confirm the series of events.

This comes just as the Biden administration has doubled the fines for travellers who do not wear a mask on public transport, with first time offenders now liable for fines of up to $500. Exemptions apply for children under 2 and travellers with certain disabilities. While asthma "likely" does not fall under these exemptions, CDC guidelines state that such exemptions only exist because those in question could not remove their mask if breathing became obstructed. It is therefore a possibility that due to the obstruction of breathing from the asthma attack, this incident may have been incorrectly adjudicated by the American Airlines staff.'

(The Gateway Pundit has reached out to Amanda Pendarvis and we will update this post if we get more information regarding this incident.)