Fat Flier Photo highlights safety worry

Thursday, 03 December 2009 | by Pat's Picks

The New York Post prints a photograph taken by an American Airlines flight attendant of a seriously overweight man on one of her flights.  The flight attendant says she snapped the photo not to be mean but to make a point to the airline that airport agents have to book two seats when somebody this big wants to get on a flight. Otherwise, flight attendants say there’s a serious safety risk to other passengers.

A number of people have seen the picture and said it could be a fake because typically the armrest doesn’t fold up on an aisle seat on a plane. But the guy looks to me like he’s sitting on the armrest, which could explain why his head stands out above the other passengers.

UPDATE: New York Post prints December 4 follow-up story detailing airline policies and letting readers know that the plane didn’t take off until the man was seated across three seats..

See the original blog post from Unusual Altitude