Turbulence

WATCH: Airline pilot subjects passengers to incredibly detailed rant about his sexuality

via Shuterstock

Video of a strange incident aboard an American Airlines flight has gone viral. In it, the pilot of a commercial flight shares a biographical rant about struggling with his sexual orientation.

American Airlines has confirmed to Inside Edition that the rant occurred earlier this year on June 15 on a flight from Washington DC to Chicago. Video of the incident began circulating online earlier this month. In it, passengers try to deplane as the pilot details the horrors of being sexually abused, religiously repressed, and the resulting confusion when it came to his own sexual orientation.

“I was raped or molested as a young boy and left to deal with it alone,” the pilot says in the video. “I was left to deal with it alone. I was raised by Christians in the church, and I never felt like I could share that with anyone. I screamed to God every night to take away my sinful thoughts and resultant homosexual tendencies.”

Related: Flight attendant demands more paid time off then sues airline after pilot calls him “hot” on Grindr

“My life spiraling out of control, I became a sexual addict,” he continued. “I turned toward pornography.”

By this point, the pilot began to sense the passengers didn’t exactly feel comfortable with his “testimony.” “I am sorry if you are uncomfortable. I just want you to hear me out,” he added.

“I thought sexual thoughts about both men and women, and started messing around who had similar tendencies,” he went on. “Every aspect of my life was filled with lies. I even thought about ending my life at one point.”

The entire rant lasted about three minutes, with passengers standing dumbfounded, trying to get off the plane. The pilot also detailed a failed marriage to a woman, coming out as gay, and how he became a pilot. In the video, one passenger begins reading the safety manual with his head down on a service tray, apparently trying to block out the event.

American Airlines has since released a statement, saying the pilot “accessed the public address system upon landing and made troubling comments until a crew member could intervene. To our affected passengers, we apologize for your experience and what you heard does not reflect our values.” The airline also clarified that the pilot did not work for American directly, but for subsidiary Envoy Air.

“This was nothing more than a very, very public cry for help,” veteran pilot Steve Cowell told Inside Edition, stating the obvious.

We hope the pilot in question has since found the mental health counseling he needs. Have a watch, and try not to feel sorry for him.

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