The man who alarmed his fellow fliers with a very public outburst on a JetBlue flight from Long Beach Friday offered a televised apology earlier this week after footage from the outburst circulated throughout social media and earned him multiple threats.
David Brackett, 28, became infamous last week after a fellow passenger captured a video of Brackett arguing with another flier before air marshals escorted him from the airplane just before takeoff, according to KCBS-TV. During the tense confrontation, other passengers and flight attendants cringed as Brackett engaged in verbal sparring with the people around him.
"I’m 28. I make $4 million a year. What do you do?" Brackett had shouted at the other passengers. "You’re right. I’m a loser. I own six houses. ... You're a f***ing idiot. I have a 176 IQ."
Brackett also made fun of another passenger for being bald, calling him, "Mr. Bald-Can't-Grow-a-Set-of-Hair!"
Both Brackett and the bald man were removed from the flight prior to takeoff and taken to the Long Beach Police Department where they both tested below the legal blood-alcohol limit, according to KCBS. Both men were released soon afterwards.
But Brackett decided to offer a public apology after the footage of the incident swept through social media and news stations over the following days.
"I’m standing up for my mistakes. I’m not blaming anybody but myself for the actions that I did," Brackett told KCBS before adding that he views the incident as a result of his post-traumatic stress disorder suffered after he was involved in a motorcycle crash that broke almost every bone in his body.
"The PTSD thing that I do have, it’s the first time where I’ve had to do something that I regret," Brackett said.
Brackett also said that his outburst occurred after the bald passenger told him that one of the flight attendants was of Middle Eastern descent and had a bomb on him, KCBS reported.
"I lost it. I heard ‘bomb’ in my head and did what I did," Brackett said, adding that he doesn't "feel safe anymore" after receiving numerous personal threats and hate messages via email and social media.
Brackett also admitted that he didn't even make a "fraction" of the $4 million that he claimed he made during the incident.
—
Follow Kathryn Blackhurst (@kablackhurst) on Twitter
UNBELIEVABLE: THIS politician has been absent 33.4% of the time, but there’s someone with an even WORSE record