Flight 777 (2018)

True Event · July 26, 2018


Log-Line

A mom sitting with her family on an airplane notices something suspicious between a father and daughter. When the father stops the plane from taking off things become a little clearer that the daughter's being held against her will.



Short Story

At our gate I noticed a young girl, about 9, with a man. They were sitting waiting for the flight at the same gate. She was crying and my mom mode was on high alert. I didn't like the way her "father" was consoling her but I also told myself that everyone parents differently and didn't say anything.

We boarded the plane and they happened to be seated one row down and across. We became friendly with a flight attendant and got settled. The rain came down and we couldn't take off so we taxied for over an hour and I watched as this little girl kept crying. Again my mom mode said, "do something" but I didn't want to make a scene. My brother was traveling with us and asked if I would switch him seats so he could hang out with my husband and kids and I said yes.

So I am now sitting directly behind the girl and her father. She's still crying and asks to go to the bathroom. She walks past me and I sense fear. I look at the father and he's watching her like a hawk. I finally grow a set and approach our amazing flight attendant and tell her that something seems "off". She makes a call and turns to look at me and nods her head yes. The ticket was purchased for a mother and her daughter not a father and daughter. Luckily we've burned off so much fuel that we need to go back to the gate and refuel so we can finally take off.

Security comes onboard and asks for the man's ticket. He’s on the phone speaking very loudly. The Security rips his ticket and heads back to the front. Someone on the left side of the plane looks at him and says, “We’re at the gate”. He complains about what’s taking so long and jumps up and says, “I’m getting off”. A woman three rows up immediately asks if he can board the next flight. I instantly thought, “that’s weird that some passenger would care if another passenger can reboard”. The woman follows the man as he leaves intensely with the little girl.

A couple of minutes go by and the attendant asked if I would be willing to speak to the police, since I was breastfeeding my six month old I had asked if they can come to me. A moment later they approached me. I gave my statement in the back. I was so nervous. Most of the plane was looking at me.

We finally take off and two hours into the flight I'm asked to come back and speak with the crew. The man was arrested for child sex trafficking. That poor girl was on her way to be delivered somewhere. The woman was assuming the role of the "mother" to get her through security. You really never think this stuff is real. That it only appears in movies. But the truth is movies are molded after real life.

behind the story

What was supposed to be a fun trip, and because we were flying to Vegas to baptize our daughter with my family who lives there, the plane rides to and from were absolutely exhausting. On our way to take off, we got delayed and circled the runway for about an hour. We were seated in the back of the plane which helped with a three-year-old and six-month-old. But when we were waiting for our flight to board my wife notices a suspicious relationship between a little girl and a father. After being seated in the back and circling the runway, we saw all the passengers. During this time the little girl had to go to the bathroom as little girls do. The father didn't behave as a "normal" father would. He was a little aggressive and kept his eyes on her the whole time, but not in concern for her safety but upset. Now some dads are just a**holes and have that deminer, but this father just stood out. As we kept circling the runway my wife had mentioned it to one of the flight attendants. She started to keep her eye on the father's behavior. She felt suspicious as well. She notified the air marshal on board who notified the pilot. We headed back to the gates. "We needed to refuel" which to some people can feel normal for circling for a while, but the plane parked at the gate. I believe the pilot was notifying the authorizes. The father at this point felt very suspicious. The whole time we watched.  

The father started to make a scene pretending like he was frustrated and had to get off. He grabbed the little girl. The flight attendant looked at us like "yes this isn't right". A few seconds later as the father passed the middle of the plane a woman stood up and said she was getting off as well. Right then I noticed two other men in different seats in different areas of the plane sit up halfway and watched them.  

The police boarded the plane after the man had gotten off. I don't think the woman was arrested because she wasn't with the father. She could have claimed to have gotten off out of exhaustion. The police came all the way back where the flight attendants sit and called my wife to go in the back and give a statement. They had told her they arrested the man and he was on his way to Vegas to sell her.  

After my wife gave the statement and sat back in her seat it was hard to believe she was right. We would never think we would witness something like this. It's like something out of a movie. I believe all four adults, the father, woman who got off, and two men who stood up as they exited, we're in on selling this little girl into prostitution. The scary thing is, we live in a world where buying and selling children is a business and we overlook it because it's so far-fetched for us to believe this is actually happening.  

So the moral of sharing this true event is, if it feels odd and looks odd, there's probably something illegal going on. 

***Image was created using artificial intelligence with Midjourney***

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