Report: FAA probing D’Amato’s removal from flight in January
Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato was removed from an airplane and tried to persuade fellow passengers to walk off with him after the flight was delayed for several hours on Jan. 9, 2017, according to videos posted on social media. Credit: Twitter / Layla Delarmelina
Former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato’s removal for causing a disruption on a late JetBlue flight is being probed by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a media report.
The federal agency said Thursday that it “does not release details of open investigations.”
D’Amato’s fellow passengers on the Kennedy Airport-bound flight, which two months ago was delayed more than six hours in Fort Lauderdale,Florida, received an email from the FAA that sought “witness” statements about the incident, the New York Post said Thursday.
A spokesman for D’Amato, who had urged other travelers to join his protest, had no immediate comment. A JetBlue spokeswoman referred inquiries to the FAA.
On Jan. 9, a video, which was posted by Twitter user Layla Delarmelina, showed D’Amato getting out of his seat on the plane as a woman wearing a Broward Sheriff’s Office jacket motioned him toward the front of the plane.
“They’re throwing me off the plane because I complained about what they were doing,” D’Amato said in the video.
D’Amato’s plane, Flight 1002, was scheduled to leave Fort Lauderdale for Kennedy about 1:40 p.m. Jan. 9, but didn’t take off until after 8 p.m., according to JetBlue’s flight tracker and the New York Post, which first reported the story.
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Sarra Sounds Off, Season 3, Ep 5: Top football teams in action and Nassau soccer playoff picks Gregg Sarra sounds off on Wantagh vs. Bethpage and Ward Melville vs Sachem North, plus Michaeil Sicoli has his Nassau soccer picks, an update on the high school fantasy football standings and the plays of the week.
