Video of Woman "Going Insane" After Missing Flight Posted on YouTube

When Public Indiscretion Goes Global

Carol Bengle Gilbert
A fellow passenger videotaped a woman "going insane" after missing her San Francisco bound Cathay Pacific flight last week and posted it on Youtube (click here to see video.) More than 400,000 people have since viewed the woman's public temper tantrum. Surprisingly, Cathay Pacific allowed the woman who went insane over missing her flight to fly on the next scheduled flight with her companion.

The video of the "woman going insane after missing flight" (almost sounds like a painting title, doesn't it?) is the latest example of public humiliation extending far beyond the locale in which it occurred.

Before the woman going insane after missing flight, there was the skier who lost his pants in a chairlift mishap in Vail, Colorado. An enterprising photographer nearby snapped a photo of the man's exposed buttocks as he hung suspended from the chairlift. From its publication in the local media, the naked skier photo quickly went viral on the internet, humiliating the skier not merely at the resort but throughout the world.

Of course, no story comparing the woman who goes insane after missing her flight to other public temper tantrums and mishaps going global would be complete without mention of Britney Spears. Spears has been the subject of number viral videos from her public mental breakdowns to her various publicly photographed panty omissions.

Is there a lesson to be learned from the woman who goes insane after missing her flight? Public behavior is no longer the fleeting blip on the radar screen it once was. When someone like the woman who went insane after missing her flight loses control in public, readily available technology- from cell phone cameras, to video cams, to security tapes- may capture a lasting and permanent record of the embarrassing, out of control behavior. And with the internet as the new town square, the "gossip" spreads virally throughout the entire world with video and audio evidence that will never go away.

For now, the woman in the video has not been identified by name. Should the name of the woman who goes insane after losing her flight become public, the consequences could prove more than merely embarrassing. Imagine what a prospective employer would do if upon entering her name in a search engine he uncovered the video. Imagine her children's friends finding the video online. Of course if the story of the woman who went insane after losing her flight and being seen having a temper tantrum across the world becomes a cautionary tale that reduces the incidence of errant public behavior, we can all be thankful that it happened- and not just because of the few moments of entertainment value the YouTube video provided.

Sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbVw7entkxg; http://www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk/strange-but-true/Womans-airport-hysterics-after-missing.4984032.jp;

Published by Carol Bengle Gilbert - Featured Contributor in Travel and Lifestyle

2010 Yahoo! Outstanding Contributor of the Year, Carol has consistently been designated a Top 100 Yahoo! Contributor Network writer. She received a 2008 People's Media Award for "Best Article." Web writing...   View profile

22 Comments

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  • Lori Leidig 5/30/2010

    The word on the Street is that the woman's daughter was in the hospital dying (and apparently did die) - but you know how street rumors are. No idea if that's true or not.

  • rafa 3/6/2009

    if you want to live in society, you have to accept others behaviors, that include observing others people tantrums, and just let it pass by, it has no meaning

  • jose 3/6/2009

    rafa your are wrong, stupid piece of s%%t

  • rafa 3/6/2009

    please define "errant public behavior"
    all humans do "errant public behavior"
    no one should be embarresed of doing "errant public behavior"
    all we are humans in this world doing "errant public behavior"
    there is no "errant public behavior"

  • Nick Howes 2/19/2009

    I've avoided watching the video which has gotten wide distribution.

  • Sophie 2/18/2009

    I know how frustrating it can be to miss a flight, as my initial flight to England was cancelled last month and I had to be put on another flight leaving the next day. But that's no excuse for throwing a temper tantrum if your flight is delayed or cancelled! Sometimes, these things just can't be helped.
    Sophie

  • Jeff Musall 2/17/2009

    Having worked in airports all during the 90's, I saw quite a few events that would rival this one....I used to say abot passengers when I worked at LAX..they might bring their bags inside, but they usually checked their brains at the curb..

  • Gabriel Gadfly 2/17/2009

    It's a weird world. We're watched all the time, and usually we don't even notice. When a reputation can be so easily destroyed, it makes you wonder what value our reputations have.

  • Lenora Murdock 2/17/2009

    You are so right - you really have to watch what you do - if you are living a duplicitous life.

  • Jennifer Thompson 2/17/2009

    The same thing crossed my mind as Carly. I wondered first why missing the flight was so traumatic? Was someone dying? I too wish we had the context.

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