US pilot hijacks PA system for bizarre rant on homosexuality

Staff member spoke for three minutes before colleagues could intervene

American Airlines was forced to give a statement about the incident (©mike simons)

A crew member on a flight in the US took over the plane’s PA system to deliver a three-minute speech about homosexuality and Christianity.

A video of the bizarre rant, uploaded to Reddit and subsequently YouTube, shows the staffer - reported to be the plane’s copilot - talking about a history of childhood molestation, his struggles with sexual addiction and suicidal thoughts, and describing having “sexual thoughts about men”.

During the lengthy diatribe, the speaker describes “giving into the pressure of being gay”.

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He ends the speech by saying: “Ultimately I want to share the love of Christ with you … if you feel uncomfortable, that’s fine, but I will talk to you in the gate area.”

The flight on which the incident took place was confirmed to be operated by Envoy Air, a regional subsidiary of American Airlines.

In a statement to Inside Edition, a spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed that it took place on 15 July.

The pilot “accessed the public address system upon landing and made troubling comments until a crew member could intervene,” read the statement.

“To our affected passengers, we apologize for your experience and what you heard does not reflect our values.”

While the airline did not name the man, it did confirm that he was an employee of Envoy Air.

The incident occurred just after the flight from Washington DC had landed in Chicago.

At one point the pilot tells restless passengers, “You can go ahead and go if you want to”.

Following the speech, the video shows an awkward trickle of applause from a couple of passengers.

“Still more comfortable than flying Delta,” commented one YouTube user.