NEW YORK — An Orthodox Jewish passenger says a United Airlines pilot forcibly removed him from an airplane bathroom while he was experiencing constipation, exposing his genitalia to other flyers during a flight from Tulum, Mexico, to Houston.
Yisroel Liebb, of New Jersey, described his trip through allegedly unfriendly skies in a federal lawsuit this week against the airline and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, whose officers he said boarded the plane upon landing and took him away in handcuffs.
Liebb and a fellow Orthodox Jewish traveler said they were forced to miss a connecting flight to New York City while U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers paraded them through an airport terminal, placed them in holding cells and searched their luggage.
‘‘CBP Officers responded to reports of a disturbance on a flight at the request of the airline,‘’ said CBP Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs Hilton Beckham. “Due to the ongoing litigation, we are unable to provide any further comment.‘’
United Airlines declined to comment. A messages seeking comment was left for a lawyer representing Liebb and the other traveler, Jacob Sebbag.
In the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Liebb said he was in the bathroom in the back of the plane for about 20 minutes on Jan. 28 when a flight attendant woke Sebbag from a nap and asked Sebbag to check on him.
Liebb said he explained his gastrointestinal predicament and assured Sebbag that he would be out soon. Sebbag then relayed that to the flight attendant, the lawsuit says.
About 10 minutes later, with Liebb still indisposed, the pilot approached Sebbag and asked him to check on Liebb, the lawsuit says. The pilot then yelled at Liebb to leave the bathroom immediately, the lawsuit says.
