Arman Tsarukyan reportedly thrown off flight; American Airlines responds

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Arman
Tsarukyan just cannot seem to avoid making headlines wherever
he goes.

On Thursday, Russian journalist Adam
Zubayraev posted a video purportedly showing Tsarukyan’s
ejection from an American Airlines commercial aircraft. Per
Zubayraev, he and two friends—American Airlines later noted four
individuals were involved—were forced to disembark the flight
before departure. The initial reason given was that Tsarukyan would
not get off his phone during the takeoff procedure, despite the
airline staff telling all fliers that they must disable all
electronic devices or place them on airplane mode.

Tsarukyan and his team were en route from Los Angeles to
Philadelphia. The fighter still plans on headlining Real American
Freestyle 8, the professional wrestling organization which has
gained crossover interest from athletes domestic and abroad.
Tsarukyan will be wrestling Urijah Faber
in their main attraction on Saturday at The Liacouras Center in
“The City of Brotherly Love.” They have since hopped on a private
jet, with the athlete posting a video
and saying, “I hope they’re not going to kick me out of this
plane.”

Safety first

Since the video of Tsarukyan’s ejection made headlines, American
Airlines has released a statement regarding the incident. They
provided this statement to
MMA Fighting on Friday.

“On April 16, American Airlines flight 513 returned to the gate at
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for customers who refused
to follow federal regulations. Safety is our top priority and we
expect our customers to comply with crew member instructions while
on board our aircraft, which include staying seated while the
aircraft is taxiing,” the airliner wrote.

Per the airline, it was not that Tsarukyan was on his phone, but
rather that he or member of his crew stood around in the aisle as
the plane was taxiing down the runway. Reportedly, they refused to
sit down, resulting in crew having to get involved as they drove
the plane back to the gate to throw them off.