Good evening to all SANE community members,
I hope you are well. I wanted to share a personal story about an unbelievable and traumatic event that occurred on March 24th, 2025.
I had just spent seven nights in Bali, enjoying much-needed rest and recreation. It was time to head to the airport to check in for my flight home. During my flight, I settled in nicely. I was catching up on an audiobook, and once that was finished, I put on some music for the remainder of the journey. All the while, I thought it would be nice to enjoy a few cold cans of beer that I had purchased from the inflight menu.
I felt the calmest and most relaxed I had been in quite some time, but that all changed when the cabin crew manager made an outrageous, unfounded, false accusation against me that carries a federal offence.
The cabin crew manager announced over the PA system that they were preparing the cabin for landing. I decided to use the toilet one last time, ensuring I would be ready for the duration it might take to get through customs. Upon exiting the toilet, to my surprise, the cabin crew manager began speaking but wasn't looking at me, so I was unsure if she was addressing me. I realised she was, so I stopped and listened to what she had to say. During our interaction, she told me I should not tamper with the plane while using the toilet.
I was completely caught off guard and had no idea what she was referring to. I responded calmly, stating that I hadn't tampered with their plane and wasn't sure what she meant. She continued to insist that I had done it, claiming she heard me tampering with their plane three times. She stated that whenever I used the toilet, she heard me tampering with the latch and insisted that I had, in fact, done it. She informed me that tampering with their planes is a federal offence. I assured her I hadn't done what she accused me of and told her that she could have the latch fingerprinted and no trace of my prints would be found on it. I asked her if she could please go into the toilet and show me the latch she was referring to, but she completely dismissed my request.
I realised this one-sided conversation was progressing nowhere, so I turned and walked back to my assigned seat, my head down and focused on the floor, overwhelmed with disbelief, confusion, and shock. I sat down and took a moment to breathe deeply, trying to process what had just happened.
To my surprise and shock, I received an alert notification on my Apple Watch indicating a high heart rate, which was registered at over 120 BPM. After a few minutes, I decided to speak with the manager to see if I could resolve the issue and whether she would listen to my side of the story. Perhaps she would realise that she may have made a mistake and apologise.
This attempt to speak with her a second time was met with the same dismissive behaviour; I was continually interrupted while trying to communicate, defend myself, and seek clarification about the accusation. She began to sound like a broken record, repeatedly insisting that I must not tamper with their planes, that it's a federal offence, that she knows the sounds her planes make, and that I did tamper with the latch. My efforts to defend myself were ignored, and I was deemed guilty.
I also noted that I am a former military member who served seven years in the army and a former police officer. I would never consider tampering with any plane. This information did not affect her behaviour toward me or influence her.
Towards the end of this impossible exchange between the manager and me, there was a brief conversation between her and a male cabin crew member who had witnessed the incident. The manager's communication was coercive and forceful, effectively instructing the crew member to claim that he also heard me tamper with the latch. His response was mumbled and incoherent, evidencing a look of fear and confusion on his face, indicating his uncertainty about how to handle the situation.
I accepted defeat, knowing she wouldn't back down or change her mind and that I was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. I ended the exchange and returned to my seat to prepare for landing.
Once the plane landed and we could move about the cabin, I collected my belongings and waited for the passengers in front to exit. I then walked down the aisle, and as I passed the male crew member who had witnessed the incident, I thanked him for his service and asked him to please inform his manager that I would be submitting a formal complaint about what occurred.
I believe the latch was probably related to the waste bin door, but I will never know.
This incident has greatly triggered me; I have relapsed since returning home, and the feelings of calm and relaxation from my fantastic trip to Bali quickly vanished during that brief and inexcusable interaction. I have never been treated with such disrespect and disregard as a human being, and I have lived a colourful and challenging life.
I am in the process of submitting a formal complaint. After receiving the initial response from the complaints team, which was appalling, I submitted a follow-up response to decline their offer. Their apology was not genuine and did not address the incident.
I have submitted a detailed account of the events to ABC News and will write a Google review. I am sharing my story to prevent this kind of incident from happening to anyone else in the future.
Thank you for allowing me to share. Stay safe and take care.
P 🤗
