A Southwest passenger says a man was escorted off her flight after he sent her an explicit photo and video before takeoff
- A Southwest passenger says a man on board sent her an explicit photo and video before the flight took off.
- Elizabeth Huffman said the man AirDropped the disturbing content before the flight from Las Vegas to Dallas.
A Southwest Airlines passenger says a man she believes was an off-duty pilot for the company AirDropped her an explicit photo and video of his genitals before takeoff on a flight heading from Las Vegas to Dallas.
Elizabeth Huffman, 27, and her sister were flying home to Texas after visiting their mom for a family vacation in Washington earlier this month. They had a layover in Las Vegas; she told Insider she received the first explicit photo from the man "right after we had boarded the plane."
"I've been AirDropped random pictures in public before, like a couple of times," she told Insider. "It's always just some stupid cartoon or something, so I really didn't think twice about it. So, I just opened it and it was a dick pic."
"We just boarded the flight, and I was like, 'That's so gross,'" she added. "But literally anybody in the airport could have sent me that, so I just kind of ignored it."
Huffman told Insider that she declined multiple AirDrop requests from the same person over the next several minutes.
"As soon as I declined it, they tried again," she said. "Four or five times. At that point, I was just like, oh my god, what is going on? And so I opened it."
This time, it was an innocuous photo taken out of an airplane window, Huffman said, adding that her sister received the same photo.
"Then a few minutes later, I get another one, and this time it's a video," she said. "A really graphic one."
Huffman shared the images with Insider.
Southwest confirmed it's investigating the allegation, telling Insider in a statement: "We are aware of the claim and absolutely do not condone this type of behavior. We are conducting an internal investigation and will take appropriate action pending the outcome of our findings."
Huffman said she and her sister flagged down a flight attendant and reported the disturbing pictures. They also shared the name of the device that the photos and video came from, which apparently included a man's first name.
Huffman told Insider that the flight attendants made an announcement asking the man to come forward, but he didn't, delaying the flight.
Eventually, Huffman said, two boys a few rows in front of her identified the man.
"So they immediately ... escorted him off the flight," Huffman said, adding that the attendant later approached Huffman and said the man was an off-duty pilot for Southwest.
"She was just horrified," Huffman recalled.
Huffman said she filed a complaint with the airline, a receipt for which was seen by Insider. Insider could not immediately reach the man identified by Huffman for comment.
Southwest declined to comment when asked if the person cited in the complaint worked at the company.
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