No Smiles For This Photographer | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Wed, Jul 06, 2011

No Smiles For This Photographer

iPhone Photo Gets Professional Photographer Escorted Off A US Airways Flight

A professional photographer was escorted off a US Airways flight last week after she snapped a picture of a gate agent's name badge with her iPhone. The agent subsequently convinced the captain of the aircraft the photog was a "security risk."

Sandy DeWitt and her husband were traveling from Philadelphia home to Miami last Friday when the incident occurred. According the the photography blog Pixiq, DeWitt said the agent, who's name is Tonialla G., had been rude to several passengers boarding the flight. She says she snapped the photo with her phone because she intended to file a complaint.

Unfortunately, the picture was too dark to see the name tag. But that didn't stop the agent from coming on the plane, confronting DeWitt, and demanding that the picture be deleted from the phone. DeWitt complied, according to an interview with Photography is Not A Crime, in which she said she would not have done so had the photo been usable. Since it was of no use to her, she deleted it.

But that didn't stop the apparently disgruntled gate agent from complaining to the pilot that DeWitt was a security risk. She and her husband were subsequently escorted off the plane. As she was being removed, she announced loudly that she was being taken off the flight because she had snapped the photograph.

A US Airways manager at Philadelphia backed up the employee, saying DeWitt could not re-board because she "was a security risk." But Supervisor Michael Lofton was perfectly willing to direct her to a Miami flight on American Airlines. Unfortunately, that flight had already departed.

Eventually, the DeWitts got as far as Fort Lauderdale on Southwest, where they had to call a friend at 0115 on Saturday and ask for a ride to Miami International where their car was parked.

FMI: www.photographyisntacrime.com

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC