Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
There aren’t many people who want to spend more time in the bathroom of an airplane than absolutely necessary. However, one traveler had to spend a lengthy stint in the head on a United flight due to constipation, and he’s filed a lawsuit that claims he was detained after the pilot broke down the door because he was taking too long.
The cramped nature of airplane bathrooms stems from the need to maximize every inch of space aboard them, but it also feels like they’re designed that way to encourage people to do their business as quickly as possible before returning to their seats.
Of course, that’s much easier said than done when you’re dealing with a bout of constipation, and one man says he was forced to endure a bit of a nightmare due to what transpired when he found himself facing that situation during a flight last year.
According to The New York Post, Yisroel Liebb was on a United Airlines flight from Mexico to Texas when he headed to the bathroom before trying (and failing) to overcome constipation that led to another man he was traveling with asking a flight attendant to check on him after he’d failed to emerge after 20 minutes.
According to a lawsuit the 20-year-old New Jersey resident recently filed against United, he informed the attendant of the gastrointestinal situation he was dealing with, but things took a turn ten minutes later when the pilot arrived and told him he needed to exit the bathroom.
The lawsuit says the pilot subsequently broke down the door after Liebb failed to emerge in a timely manner while he was still perched on the toilet with his pants down, and both he and the guy accompanying him on the flight were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents after the plane landed (both men are Orthodox Jews, and the filing asserts the pilot bemoaned how “Jews act” while reprimanding Liebb).
They were eventually released without any charges being filed but missed their connecting flight and had to pay for a hotel room and meals while waiting for the one they were rebooked on the next day. Liebb claims he also suffered injuries to his head and legs when he was “forcibly” removed from the plane in addition to “severe wrist pain” stemming from the handcuffs that were deployed by the aforementioned agents.
The lawsuit isn’t seeking a specified sum, and United declined to comment on the matter.