The woman who had a meltdown on an American Airlines flight last month over a passenger that was "not real" has now been formally identified.
Having boarded the American flight at Dallas Fort Worth Airport the woman was caught on camera in the middle of an expletive-laden rant aimed at another passenger. However, when she pointed towards the back of the plane where she had been seated, no one was to be seen.
The clip of the meltdown rapidly did the rounds on social media, racking up millions of views and generating headlines across the world. The incident led to the entire plane being evacuated, delaying the flight by over three hours while TSA personnel conducted a full rescreening of the aircraft.
Now, the 'star' of the video has been identified as Tiffany Gomas, a 38-year-old marketing executive from Dallas.
Before the flight could take off, Gomas was filmed shouting, "I’m telling you, I’m getting the f**k off and there’s a reason why I’m getting the f**k off and everyone can either believe it or they can not believe it.
"I don’t give two f**ks, but I am telling you right now – that motherf**ker back there is not real."
Gomas is seen pacing throughout the video, looking visibly distraught, although the nature of her complaint is dumbfounding to every other passenger on her flight, as well to pretty much everyone who watched the video around the world.
"You can sit on this plane and you can die with them or not. I’m not going to," Gomas adds before disappearing from shot.
Gomas' distress seems to have started when she got into an argument with the relatives she was traveling with, according to police, via The New York Post. Gomas had accused her relatives of stealing her airpods.
The July 2 complaint reads, "The female then started claiming the aircraft was not safe and did not want the aircraft to leave due to her believing it would not make it to its destination.
"Due to the statements the flight attendants felt the aircraft needed to be rescreened. [The airline manager] explained that the passenger was denied boarding and they wanted her escorted to the public side.
"TSA personnel arrived at the scene to conduct a full rescreening of the aircraft. [The airline manager] gave Gomes a verbal criminal trespass notice, explaining she was denied boarding and needed to depart the secure area."
When officers arrived at the airport gate, Gomas was said to be "distraught" and attempting to re-board the plane. The 38-year-old also attempted to re-enter through TSA screening after being escorted to the non-secure area of the airport.
Police eventually tracked Gomas down to the curb outside Dallas Fort Worth airport, where she was reportedly waiting for an Uber. She was given a ticket for a criminal trespass notice but refused to sign it. She refused to show police her ID as well. However, the marketing executive was not formally arrested or taken into custody.
Despite the incident and the embarrassment caused by it, it would appear Gomas is an extremely successful marketing executive, with the Post revealing that she lives in a $2 million house in the affluent Lakewood neighborhood of Dallas and served as vice president of Elevate Brand Marketing, where she was named a "rising star" in 2017 by a trade publication.
