A now-viral video on social media captures a chaotic interaction between an American Airlines flight attendant who confronted content creator Kobe Peter “Twoey King” Nguyen about vaping on a plane. The incident occurred on August 4 on American Airlines Flight 2860 from Phoenix to San Francisco. The dispute between the American Airlines cabin crew and the passenger occurred over the latter vaping in the plane’s bathroom. In a clip that’s circulated on the web, Nguyen accused a flight attendant of opening a plane’s bathroom door without his consent while he was occupying it. The flight attendant said that she knew Nguyen was recording, and she reached for his phone. Then, the man accused the flight attendant of being physically violent with him. He later claimed that the worker “assaulted” him.
Nguyen apologized in the clip for vaping, which is illegal to do on a plane.
“I have a lawyer. I am a lawyer,” he told the flight attendant during the incident. “I’m sorry, but you do not put your hands on me. You do not put your hands on me.”
“I have 25,000 followers that are going to watch this,” he continued, before threatening to release the incident’s footage on social media if the flight attendant didn’t apologize to him. “I’m actually going to call the police when I get back to the ground on you.”
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, American Airlines said, “a customer on American Airlines Flight 2860 with service from Phoenix (PHX) to San Francisco (SFO) was removed from the aircraft upon arrival at SFO due to disruptive behavior… We thank our customers for their patience and apologize for any inconvenience.”
Passenger gets caught vaping in plane restroom and plays victim. pic.twitter.com/74ym9aWTeX
— Mr Shelby (@mrshelby101) August 5, 2025
Details On Nguyen’s Heated Exchange With An American Airlines Flight Attendant
Nguyen said on Instagram that the incident was something he never imagined he’d go through, “especially on a commercial airline.” The flyer said his life has been negatively impacted in the aftermath of the video going viral, including having “lost a very important friend.” Elsewhere in the post, he disclosed that he’s escalated the incident to American Airlines’ legal department.
“The incident has impacted my mental health, my work, and my ability to trust the very systems meant to keep us safe,” Nguyen said. “I’m not just a CEO and nonprofit founder — I’m also a Hollywood producer. The reputational harm from this incident has been devastating to my career,” he added at another point in the caption.
“My goal is not only accountability, but to make sure this never happens to anyone else. I will fight for justice, privacy, and dignity for every passenger,” he said at the end of the post.
Nguyen has publicly admitted to vaping in the bathroom during the flight to San Francisco. “Nicotine withdrawal is very real. A lot of people, they don’t know, but for anger problems, things that rile you up will really, really rile you up, especially when you have nicotine withdrawal,” he told 12News.
The flyer has received an influx of backlash, with online users criticizing his behavior toward the cabin crew and his illegal in-flight vaping. Regarding how Nguyen feels the incident has been misinterpreted, he said, “It makes it look like I was just some guy who was vaping when really, I was publicly humiliated. And that was why I was so riled up. Especially being an autistic individual, that was really, really difficult.”
What Should Travelers Know About Smoking And Vaping On A Plane?
It may be hard for some travelers to imagine how smoking was not only allowed, but commonplace on planes only a few decades ago. Motions banning smoking on planes began in 1971, but it wasn’t until 2000 that the United States banned in-flight smoking on all routes within, from, or to the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) emphasizes that electronic smoking devices, like vapes, are hazardous materials when improperly packed or used on aircraft. Though they can be transported in carry-ons – they’re banned in checked baggage – lithium batteries in the devices pose “smoke, fire, and extreme heat” risks.
“Just as passengers are not allowed to smoke cigarettes on an aircraft, they should never use their vapes or e-cigarettes on an aircraft. It’s not only dangerous, it’s a federal offense,” says the FAA.
Moreover, in a 2023 published article, a spokesperson for the agency told Newsweek that “passengers who violate federal vaping laws could face fines up to $1,771.”
