Summary

  • American Airlines attorneys suggest victim should have noticed lavatory camera, sparking outrage.
  • Family of 9-year-old girl suing AA over secret filming incident causing severe distress.
  • American Airlines distances itself from attorneys’ blaming victim, apologizes for legal strategy.

Attorneys representing American Airlines and its former flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, who is accused of filming minors in the aircraft lavatory, have claimed that one of the victims “knew or should have known” there was a camera in the lavatory. The airline has since put out a statement rejecting the claim.

Lawyers suggest spying victim is responsible

The family of a nine-year-old girl from Texas is currently suing American Airlines after learning she was one of several passengers secretly filmed using the lavatory by flight attendant Thompson III. However, lawyers representing the airline and defendant have provoked outrage after suggesting the girl bears responsibility as she should have noticed the phone used by Thompson III to record his victims. A court filing from AA’s attorneys said,

“Any injuries or illnesses alleged to have been sustained by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s own fault and negligence, were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.”

American cabin

Photo: GG Photos | Shutterstock

According to the lawsuit, the girl has since suffered severe emotional distress due to the incident – which occured on January 26th, 2023 – with her family only finding out about the perverse recordings almost a year later after Thompson III was caught filming a different girl. The flight attendant reportedly used the pretext of “cleaning up a mess” in the lavatory to install his phone there and did this to four other minor female passengers before he was caught.

The family’s lawyer, Paul Llewellyn, told The Dallas Morning News,

“To blame a 9-year-old for being filmed while using the airplane bathroom is both shocking and outrageous. In my opinion, this is a depraved legal strategy that sinks to a new low. American Airlines should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.”

American Airlines responds

The airline has understandably distanced itself from its attorneys claim, stating that it does “not believe this child is at fault” and has asked for the claim to be amended. It added that its attorneys were retained via its insurance company and that the imputation of blame to the victim was “not representative” of the airline.

In a statement to Simple Flying, American Airlines said,

“Our outside legal counsel retained with our insurance company made an error in this filing. The included defense is not representative of our airline and we have directed it be amended this morning. We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously. Our core mission is to care for people — and the foundation of that is the safety and security of our customers and team.”

Flight attendant had been flagged before

The lawsuit against American Airlines argues that the carrier and other flight attendants knew or should have known that Thompson III was a danger. Firstly, it claims fellow FA’s on duty should have recognized his suspicious behavior, which included cutting up a piece of red catering tape and entering the lavatory with it, and then loitering outside the lavatory while it was occupied before re-entering immediately upon it being vacant.

 Airbus A321 de American Airlines at DFW

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Additionally, the suit claims that several American Airlines employees had complained about Thompson III’s inappropriate sexual conduct before the incident occured. The flight attendant had also been stopped by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for possession of inappropriate material before the incident.

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