ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

An air passenger claims he was detained on a flight after a cabin crew member accused him of not flushing the toilet.

Salvatore Bevivino is suing Virgin America for $US 500,000 in damages over the incident, which he says left him humiliated.

He alleges it all started when he pushed the call button mid-flight and asked for a drink. A male flight attendant then allegedly informed Bevivino he'd need to enter his drink request on the inflight entertainment unit.

He then called another crew member and asked why they couldn't just bring him a drink like other airlines.
When he informed them of his intent to contact the airline over the policy, a third member of the crew then gave him the drink.

When the plane landed at San Francisco Airport however, Bevivino was pulled aside by the captain "as a person of suspicion" and accused of leaving the toilet unflushed.
He was then removed from the flight by police, FBI and airport security agents.

According to a police incident report, a flight attendant said Bevivino had gone to the bathroom after asking for the drink: "(He) came back out with a smile on his face and began using profanities. (He) passed by the restroom and saw that Bevivino left the door open and did not flush the toilet."

Bevivino insists he didn't yell obscenities at anyone or leave a toilet unflushed, saying he was just flustered over the incident.

A Virgin America spokesperson said the airline is confident its crew dealt with the situation appropriately.