There’s nothing quite like the tension on a turbulent flight, especially when someone starts to panic.

But what would you do if a fellow passenger’s outburst was making an already nerve-wracking situation even worse? Would you try to stay calm? Or would you speak up and risk escalating the situation?

In the following story, one man finds himself in this exact situation and may have made everything worse. Here’s what happened.

AITA for Telling a Doctor to Shut Up on a Turbulent Flight?

I (30M) was on a flight from Atlanta to LAX last night. It was a packed flight, and everyone was just trying to get some sleep. About two hours in, the lights came on, and an announcement crackled through the intercom: Turbulence ahead, fasten seatbelts. Pretty standard stuff.

Then, all trouble breaks loose. This woman, maybe late 40s, impeccably dressed, starts freaking out and screaming about air pockets, demanding to speak to the pilot, the whole nine yards. The flight attendant (super patient lady, bless her) tries to calm her down and explains it’s standard procedure and turbulence is normal. Nope, not having it.

This lady, who we’ll name Jane, throws a fit. Not the screeching, nails-on-a-chalkboard kind, but a cold, steely fury. She accuses the flight attendant of lying and putting everyone in danger, demanding to be deplaned immediately.

The flight attendant says that’s not possible mid-flight, and Jane launches into this whole spiel about how she’s a doctor (pulls out an ID to prove it), and if something happens, it’s on the airline.

At this point, he couldn’t handle it any longer.

Now, the rest of the plane is awake. People are grumbling, some looking scared, and a baby starts crying. The flight attendant is trying to reason with Jane, but it’s like talking to a brick wall. Finally, I just lose it.I yell out (probably a little too loudly), “Look, lady, we all get turbulence. It’s not a five-star resort, but it’s safe. Sit down and shut up before you get yourself arrested!”Everyone stares at me.

Jane spins around, eyes blazing, and starts in on me about disrespecting a medical professional. I fire back that a real doctor wouldn’t be causing a scene and freaking everyone out. The flight attendant dives in, trying to mediate, but the damage is done. We hit some turbulence, not terrible, but enough to jostle the plane. Jane freaks again, and some people start getting panicky.

I feel awful. Maybe I made things worse? The flight attendant gives me a look that could curdle milk but then steers Jane away to talk to her privately.

By the time we land, things are calmer, but the tension is thick. Jane gives me a withering look as she disembarks, and a few people mutter thanks under their breath.

AITA?

Wow! That’s a stressful situation.

Let’s see what the fine folks over at Reddit had to say about his story.

Here’s someone who sees their side of the issue.

According to this comment, the doctor may have been having a panic attack.

This person has a good point.

Yet another person who thinks she was probably having a panic attack.

While it may have made the situation worse, someone needed to say something. The lady was obviously stressing everyone out, and the airline should’ve handled this better.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.