Deplorable: Man Shakes Seat Violently To Prevent Recline On Turkish Airlines

The rule has always been and remains that you have a right to recline your seat (and so does the person behind you). But what impressed me most on a Turkish Airlines A350-900 flight was the restraint shown by a passenger when the man seated behind him began violently shaking his seat.

Man Shakes Seat Violently In Attempt To Prevent Seatmate Recline On Turkish Airlines A350-900

From what I can gather, the incident took place on Turkish Airlines flight TK202 from Denver (DEN) to Istanbul (IST) onboard an Airbus A350-900 jet. Video shows a man in an aisle economy class set violently shaking the seat of the person sitting in front of him.

The man seated in front appeared to jump up and I thought for sure a fight would break out, but that man had remarkable restraint and simply called a flight attendant.

A flight attendant appeared and advised the angry man that the person in front of him had a right to recline the seat, but he did too.

That seemed to defuse the matter.

When I see such poor, deplorable conduct I have to wonder how often he beats his spouse…

Such a temper is disgusting and yet I know we all have our breaking points. In that sense, I was far more impressed with the restraint of the person in front of him. As much as I’d like to think I would show the same restraint, I do wonder how I would handle such violence onboard…

He handled it precisely the correct way and I appreciate the flight attendant for seeming to calm the angry man behind him.

As View From The Wing notes, you are allowed to recline if your seat reclines, except during takeoff and landing, when you’re instructed by the crew to be in a full upright position for safety–and I’d also add during meal service, even if you skip meal service and want to sleep. Legroom is very tight on Turkish Airlines and so I understand the frustration, but you don’t get to tell your seatmate what to do with his seat and especially cannot become violent.