SAN FRANCISCO -- A Bay Area business manager has sued Virgin America airlines after he was questioned by the FBI following a flight in which he bickered with crew members over ordering a soda.
Salvatore Bevivino, 52, of Brisbane filed suit Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claiming that the plane's crew had accused him of swearing at flight attendants and maliciously leaving a toilet unflushed on the Philadelphia-to-San Francisco flight.
The incident started April 28, 2012, when Bevivino pressed the call button and asked the flight attendant who responded if he could order a soft drink. The attendant told Bevivino to order a drink through the touch-screen system on the back of the seat in front of him, the suit said.
Bevivino said he didn't want to order a drink that way and asked again for a soda, but the attendant walked away, the suit said. A second flight attendant told him the same thing.
After he threatened to complain to the airline, a third attendant brought him his drink, his suit said.
The suit said Bevivino had no more interactions with the crew during the flight and spent the rest of his time working on his laptop.
In a police report included with the suit, the first flight attendant recalled that Bevivino had refused to look at the touch-screen menu and said, "My time is precious - you are here to serve me."
The police report said that a few minutes later, Bevivino went to the restroom and "came back out with a smile on his face and began using profanities," speaking to himself and not to anyone in particular. The report says Bevivino left the bathroom door open and the toilet unflushed.
Police at
San Francisco International Airport and FBI agents detained Bevivino when he arrived at the gate, then released him. During the questioning, Bevivino said, the plane's pilot falsely accused him of swearing at the crew.
The suit asks for at least $500,000 in damages. A Virgin America spokeswoman declined to comment.