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United Pilot Removed From Plane After Bizarre Rant About Donald Trump and Her Divorce

By
Madeline Farber
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By
Madeline Farber
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February 12, 2017, 2:41 PM ET

This article has been updated to reflect comment from United Airlines.

A United Airlines pilot was replaced before takeoff on Saturday after she went on a bizarre rant about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and her divorce over the plane’s intercom.

The pilot, who was not identified, reportedly boarded the plane in everyday clothes, not in her official uniform, Reuters reports.

“She shows up dressed like a civilian and asks to us to take a vote to see whether she should change into her uniform or fly as is,” Pam O’Neal said, according to Reuters. O’Neal was a passenger on the United Flight 455 that was headed to Austin, TX from San Francisco International Airport.

The pilot then used the plane’s intercom to call both President Trump and Hillary Clinton “a—holes,” according to O’Neal.

“She started off by saying that she had not voted for either Trump or Clinton because they’re a bunch of liars… It just really sort of went downhill from there and didn’t make a lot of sense to any of us,” O’Neal said.

The pilot reportedly announced she was going through a divorce, and commented on an interracial couple in the first-class section, saying “yay unity.”

Shortly after, the pilot was removed from the flight and replaced by a different captain. The incident caused about a two-hour delay, according to Reuters.

“We hold our employees to the highest standards and replaced the pilot with a new one to operate the flight, which has since departed Austin. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” United told Fortune in a statement. Charles Hobart, a spokesperson for airline, declined to comment beyond the statement.

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By Madeline Farber
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