An American Airlines flight from Phoenix (PHX) to San Francisco (SFO) took a bizarre turn when a self-proclaimed celebrity industry “expert” was caught vaping in the lavatory, then tried to spin himself as the victim by accusing the flight attendant of assault.

American Passenger Caught Vaping, Then Fires Fake-Lawyer Claims at Flight Attendant

It all went down on flight AA2860 on August 4, 2025. Passenger Peter “Kobe” Nguyen, who bills himself as a pickleball coach, agent, and AI expert, decided it was OK to vape in the rear lavatory of the aircraft, a violation of federal law (he later claimed he was only took “one puff”).

Smelling the vape, the flight attendant forced the locked lavatory door open. Shocked, Nguyen began recording the interaction. While lecturing him, the flight attendant noticed he was recording and tried to grab his phone (there’s no evidence she ever touched him). That’s when the meltdown started. He accuses her of assault:

• “She just put her hands on me!”
• “I am a lawyer, I am a lawyer!”
• “You are in so much trouble … I’m going to call the police!”
• “I have 25,000 followers … do you want me to release this video?”

Nguyen is not a lawyer, though he may not have been wrong in claiming assault.

Recall I just mentioned in my Brazilian Jujutsu post that assault is not touching someone, but an intentional act that causes another person to reasonably fear imminent physical harm and is often confused with battery. The flight attendant should not have lunged for his phone, though that hardly excuses his poor behavior.

Nguyen was removed from the flight upon arrival, with AA releasing the following statement:

“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.”

I understand sometimes when you are addicted, you just have to take a puff…but man up if you are caught. Don’t act like my five-year-old daughter…

CONCLUSION

Nguyen could have taken the warning, apologized, and gone on with his day. Instead, he turned a minor infraction into a spectacle, complete with fake-lawyer theatrics and social media name-dropping. Vaping in the lav is dumb. Pretending to be Perry Mason afterward is even dumber. Next time, save the puff for the airport smoking area and the courtroom drama for Netflix…

Hat Tip: One Mile At A Time