American Airlines calls legal filing blaming girl, 9, for plane bathroom recording “an error'

American Airlines faced backlash after a legal filing suggested a 9-year-old girl was at fault for being secretly recorded by a flight attendant's phone in an airplane bathroom. The airline later denounced the filing as an error by their outside legal counsel, affirming that the child was not at fault and expressing their commitment to passenger safety. The incident involved flight attendant Estes Thompson III, who was arrested and charged with sexual exploitation and possession of child sexual abuse images.

The sequence of events leading to the discovery of the recording device on the American Airlines flight began when a 14-year-old girl boarded a flight from Charlotte to Boston on September 2. During the flight, Estes Thompson III, a 37-year-old flight attendant, directed the girl to use the first-class bathroom and escorted her there. He mentioned needing to wash his hands and informed her that the toilet seat was broken.

Once Thompson left, the girl entered the bathroom and noticed red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in an open position. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that Thompson had concealed his iPhone beneath these stickers to record video. The girl then used her own phone to take a picture of the setup before returning to her seat.

This discovery prompted an investigation by federal authorities who later found videos on Thompson’s phone that included footage of four other girls, aged 7, 9, 11, and 14, as well as dozens of photos of a 9-year-old unaccompanied minor. Thompson was subsequently arrested and indicted on charges related to sexual exploitation and possession of images of child sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty in federal court in Boston and is being held without bail.