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PSA: Don’t AirDrop Graphic Crime Scene Photos While on an Airplane (or Sneak Pepper Spray Onboard)

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend.  This story hits close to home for me because my girlfriend’s sister was on this Hawaiian Airlines flight Friday morning from Oakland (OAK) to Maui (OGG).  According to the article, a high school girl was trying to send a “grisly mock crime scene photo” to her mother (who was presumably sitting next to her), but accidentally AirDropped the photo to other passengers on the plane.  If you are not familiar with AirDrop, it is a feature built into iPhones and Macs for sending files between devices over bluetooth.  As long as you are within the range of the bluetooth signal, you can receive AirDrop files.  Unfortunately, if you do not know what you are doing, you might accidentally send a file to complete strangers, like what happened on this Hawaiian Airlines flight.

To prevent this from happening again in the future, you should text or email the files directly to the person you want to share them with.  If you do want to use AirDrop, make sure you recognize the person you are sending the files to before you send the files.  Once the files are sent, you cannot get the files back.

Ok, so back to the story… A few passengers alerted the flight attendants, who alerted the pilot, who returned the plane back to the gate, so that authorities could come and investigate the situation.  After the mother and daughter were escorted off the plane to speak to authorities, the flight took off 90 minutes later.  Unfortunately, this was not the only incident on the flight.  Midway over the Pacific Ocean, a container of pepper spray went off in the first class cabin, causing “twelve passengers and three flight attendants” to be “treated for respiratory issues,” according to this article.  2 incidents on the same flight?  That’s not how you want your Hawaiian vacation to start.

If you flew this Labor Day Weekend, I hope your flights were boring and not eventful like this Hawaiian Airlines flight.  Have you ever experienced anything like this flight?  Oh, by the way, I was told that passengers received $500 Hawaiian Airlines travel vouchers.  That kinda sucks, since Hawaiian Airlines only has flights to and from the Hawaiian Islands, so route options are limited if you live on the mainland.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!


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8 thoughts on “PSA: Don’t AirDrop Graphic Crime Scene Photos While on an Airplane (or Sneak Pepper Spray Onboard)

  1. Steve

    Hawaiian just dropped their Beijing route, but they also fly to Japan and Australia from the mainland.
    (via Hawaii of course). Actually the cheapest way to get to Australia from the US mainland in Biz class.

    Reply
    1. Grant Post author

      That is good to know. $500 can probably get you half of a round trip flight to Australia or Japan, if you buy your ticket at the right time. I will let my girlfriebd’s sister know. Thank you Steve.

      Reply
    1. Grant Post author

      Pepper spray should not have been brought on the plane and the TSA should have spotted it before it got on a plane. Both parties are to blame.

      Reply
  2. Moe

    “hits close to home” LOL

    Big deal….maybe people should set their AirDrop settings to not accept incoming messages from people they don’t know.

    Reply

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