<p><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5ff99bf5d184b30018aaded6-2400/Screenshot%202021-01-09%20at%20120247.png" border="0" alt="American Airlines flight DC Phoenix January 8 Trump chant" data-mce-source="Twitter/Mindy Robinson" data-mce-caption="A screengrab from a video showing passengers chanting on an American Airlines flight from Washington, DC, to Phoenix, Arizona, on January 8, 2021." data-link="https://twitter.com/iheartmindy/status/1347630575159570442"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>A pilot on an American Airlines flight from Washington, DC, to Phoenix, threatened to divert the plane and strand unruly Trump fans in Kansas.</p><p>The flight was on Friday, two days after a mob of Trump supporters broke into the US Capitol, which derailed Congress's session and led to five deaths.</p><p>From the beginning of the flight, Videos show people chanting "USA" and "fight for Trump."</p><p>Trump supporter Mindy Robinson, who posted one video, described the plane as "full of patriots." One of the videos shows several passengers wearing what appear to be red Trump hats.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation=""><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wow. Im on a plane full of patriots flying from DC to Phoenix and we started chanting USA ...and the Captain came on said told us hed drop us off in Kansas if he had to if we didnt obey their every single rule.<br><br>American Airlines is everything but American.<a href="https://twitter.com/AmericanAir'ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmericanAir</a> <a href="https://t.co/duFt2W90cc">pic.twitter.com/duFt2W90cc</a></p> Mindy Robinson(@iheartmindy) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1347630575159570442'ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation=""><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I was on this flight too <a href="https://t.co/7lXbddJaVd">pic.twitter.com/7lXbddJaVd</a></p> a Patriots Point of View (@PatriotPOV) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1347714715401691136'ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>The flight appears to have been AA 1242 from Reagan National Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor, the only direct American service between the two cities that day.</p><p>A later video recorded the message from the pilot:</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation=""><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/AmericanAir'ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmericanAir</a> threatening to dump people off in the middle of Kansas. Unreal. <a href="https://t.co/Tmmek6Yu5h">pic.twitter.com/Tmmek6Yu5h</a></p> Doctor President-elect Amanda Head (@AmandaHead) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1347629283892731905'ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>He said: "This is the way it's gonna be it's a four and a half hour flight to Phoenix. We'll put this plane down in the middle of Kansas and dump people offI don't care. We will do that if that's what it takes, so behave, please."</p><p>As this flight path map from the tracking site FlightRadar24 shows, Kansas is about half way along the journey from DC to Phoenix.</p><p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5ff996f5bde805001980c085-2400/Screenshot%202021-01-09%20at%20112447.png" border="0" alt="Flight path January 8 AA1242" data-mce-source="FlightRadar24" data-mce-caption="The path of flight AA 1242 on January 8, 2021, according to FlightRadar24 data." data-link="https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/aa1242"></p><p>In a statement <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/01/08/pilot-threatens-trump-fans-hell-dump-them-in-kansas/">to the New York Post</a>, American defended the pilot's actions and suggested that some passengers had also refused to comply with the requirement to wear a mask while flying.</p><p>The statement said the pilot was "emphasizing the importance of following crew member instructions and complying with mandatory face-covering policies."</p><p>The airline said there were no further issues during the flight. The service took off at 2:41 p.m. local time and reached Phoenix around four-and-a-half hours later, <a href="https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/aa1242">according to FlightRadar</a>.</p><p>Business Insider has contacted American for further information.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-american-airlines-pilot-threat-strand-trump-fans-dc-phoenix-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-make-beer-with-picobrew-c-home-brew-2020-3">We tested a machine that brews beer at the push of a button</a></p>
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