/ Rob Beschizza / 6:38 pm Tue May 14, 2013

Woman ejected from plane for singing Whitney Houston

ABC News: "An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing when a female passenger refused to stop singing Whitney Houston songs."

Come for the rendition of "I will always love you", stay for the bogus and futile "DO NOT TAKE PICTURES ON THE AIRPLANE!" demands from the flight crew. [Thanks, Michelle Fox!]

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  2. Rob: Could you do me a favor and look into a ” bogus and futile “DO NOT TAKE PICTURES ON THE AIRPLANE!” demands from the flight crew.” issue?
    Because, just like when you are talking photos of cops, I’d like to know what rules or laws the airlines are using and what they will do to enforce them. And if the enforcing extends to banning, ejecting, suing after the fact or confiscation of cameras.
    Do they use “terrorist!” as their reason or some other reason?

    I know that I’ve been told I couldn’t video tape on the plane and was given some vague “security” reason, but what is the reason and why should we comply. If we don’t comply what might they do? I know this is private property (the plane) but does it count as a Public space is I shoot video of someone (like a cop/air marshall) performing their job with over-zealousness? 
    Thanks!

    1. On the one hand, the First Amendment doesn’t cover a business establishment, and it would kind of suck to be asked to leave at 20,000 feet. But on the other hand – why not? Are they afraid somebody is going to document their “nonlethal” taser play?

    2. federal law requires you to comply with all instructions given by aircraft personnel when on and boarding a plane

      1.  I wonder if that means anything?  “Ok everyone, take your pants off.”

    3. Many airlines don’t hold the copyrights for the the airplanes and other equipment they own.

      1. Taking a picture of some equipment is not copyright infringement. Unless in your statement there was some irony I didn’t detect (I really hate ironing).

    4. Your question hides a bigger issue: that we are living in a time of fuzzy laws, when we can’t say for sure ‘ this is ludicrous.’ That’s very dangerous.

  3. “After she calmed down she was released and she left the airport in a taxi.
    ” Gee, I think I would have left in a huff, not a taxi…

    The _proper_ response to a passenger who is being non-dangerously but excessively disruptive is “Knock it off now, or we will put you on our carrier’s undesirable-passenger list and refuse to sell you tickets in the future.”

    I’m not sure an adult howling is more disruptive than an infant howling. But the adult is more capable of understanding, and being held to, consequences.

    1.  Maybe they were afraid the other passengers were going to kill her if she didn’t shut up.

    1. She wrote it and stuff, yea.  But no one knows it as a Dolly Parton song.
      However, we all know it as one of the worst songs in human history, particularly when sung by that screeching Celine Dion.
      I think it might be worse than “Feelings”

      1.  Thank the FSM that somebody finally (or at least somebody I noticed) said “However, we all know it as one of the worst songs in human history”.  In re: “I Will Always Love You”.  That song has always grated on my nerves. 

      2.  Maybe if you’re under 35 years of age, it’s a Whitney Houston song. For those of us at a certain age, it’s most definitely a Dolly Parton song. In fact, it was her signature song. She sang it at the end of every episode of her television show. Instead of listening to the overwrought versions by Houston and Dion, try listening to the heartfelt, tender version by Dolly herself. It really is a lovely song.

        1. I understand that, but by “no one” I mean that if you asked 100 people on the street what they think of it and they know the song, 95 of the 100 would consider it a Celine Dion song and most of those 95 wouldn’t even know of any connection to Dolly Parton.

          2. Trust me, it would be the same in the US.
            And I just realized I kept writing Celine Dion for some reason, when I meant Whitney Houston.  Oy.
            And remember, there was a horrible movie with her and Kevin Costner and this god awful song.

      1. It’s a horrible song, whomever wrote it. Singing it alone should be grounds for ejection.

      2. Yep. There’s Dolly Parton, whiling away her last days in the gutter alternating between disease and insanity, destitute.

        Dolly wrote the song. She can actually say, “if I received a nickel for every time this song was played…” and tell you the number.

    3. And Me and Bobby McGee is a  Kris Kristofferson song sung by Roger Miller, but come on. pedantry in the service of one’s ego should at least be obscure enough to impress people. Anyone who even remotely gave a turd about that song already knew this.

        1.  Apparently Miller sang it first. That’s sort of the point of me citing it as a comparable example.

  5. I rather think the ‘don’t take photos’ wasn’t a blanket request…but a incident request.
    To move things about faster no matter how miss-guided any picture disruption would be to move this person off and get on with their flight.

    The Captain of the plane is the “captain”…and can request “all red headed people get pudding for desert” if he wishes.

  6. For a second reading this headline I forgot that we don’t actually have ejection pods on modern airliners. Then I was disappointed.

    1.  yeah, my mind went to Hedwig right away. the second thought I had was “no jury in the land would convict me”.

  9. Finally, airline security we can all get behind. In fact I fully support drone strikes targeted at anyone who sings this song.

  11. Normally, I would think that was a drastic action, but considering it was THAT SONG, I think she got off lucky. I HATE that song; I would have punched her!

        2.  You’re ignoring the way language works:
          Compare – “I hate the fuckin’ Eagles.” to
          “I hate fuckin’ Eagles.”

  12. A couple of years ago BB posted a filmed time lapse trip from Paris to San Francisco. The person who made the film commented on how the Air France crew accommodated him in his efforts. What a difference between that scenario and announcements that no photos may be taken on the plane. And in France you don’t have to take your shoes off before boarding and  full body scanners are not used. USA! USA! usa…

        1. Gawd. In one ear worm, out another!

          Plus those shorts. Boxers or diapers? I can’t decide.

  15. This story would have been much more attention-grabbing had she been ejected prior to landing.

    1. The only rendition of this song that I’ve ever heard that was on key was performed by the songwriter herself.  Much like the US national anthem, the song is full of fail for 99.99999% of singers.

  18. Whitney Houston’s songs are among the most technically difficult ever written for pop music. There really ought to be a licensing system restricting the privilege of singing her songs in public to those who can actually do it. 

    1. There might still be a few potential customers who don’t know how horribly crowded and uncomfortable airplanes have become.

  21. This reminds me of an old Deep Thought from Jack Handey:  “If trees could scream, would we still cut them down?  Probably, if they did it all the time, for no reason.”

  23. Singing on an aircraft in flight? Don’t you know how badly that affects an aircraft’s instruments? They were lucky to make it back to the ground.

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