I’m not sure how flight attendants can do their job with passengers like Peter Nguyen. On August 4, Nguyen foolishly decided to vape in the plane’s lavatory and when the smoke alarm went off, a flight attendant opened the door to find out what was going on. Nguyen flipped the camera around and started recording his encounter between himself and the flight attendant (yes, he was filming himself while vaping on the toilet). Video embedded below.
“Celebrity pickleball coach” Peter Nguyen had a meltdown after a flight attendant caught him vaping in the airplane bathroom. He demanded an apology, threatened to post a video to his “25,000 followers,” and claimed the attendant “assaulted” him. What a jerk. pic.twitter.com/ihmIl2emFy
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) August 7, 2025
It happened on American Airlines Flight 2860 from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). According to KTVU, “Nguyen told Storyful that he only took one puff of his vape before the flight attendant barged into the bathroom. I told her I was just using the bathroom and I apologized for vaping and I was recording,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen is heard telling the flight attendant he was sitting on the toilet when she barged in and he apologizes. The attendant is explaining the safety hazards of his actions and says, “You can keep saying you’re sorry but I care about all these passengers.”
When the flight attendant realizes he’s recording and reaches for his phone to stop, Nguyen claims she assaulted him. “You do not put your hands on me, you do not get to touch a passenger. You assaulted me.”
He tries to tell her she’s in so much trouble because he’s a lawyer but in reality he realized he was and was just trying to turn the tables on the situation. It didn’t work because when the flight landed, Nguyen was met by police. However, it’s not clear if he will face any legal punishment or be placed on American Airlines no-fly list.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “Just as passengers are not allowed to smoke cigarettes on an aircraft, they should never use their vapes or e-cigarettes on an aircraft. It’s not only dangerous it’s a federal offense.”
American Airlines confirmed an incident but surprisingly didn’t thank the flight attendants in the statement for being so calm dealing with this guy who is supposedly a “celebrity pickleball coach.” Either way, it was a real pathetic attempt to turn the situation around and the internet is rightly roasting him. Here are some of the top comments:
@Jeffro_Metal: That person should be on the no-fly list forever.
@WhiteGuyRich: They should have shoved him in the toilet and flushed him.
@RealLifeFootage: Dude is a straight up loser.
@Atompi314: Celebrity pickleball player. Hahahahah this is a thing? Literally the most pathetic thing to be famous for.
@BuHazae: He was sitting next to me and he was annoying even though he was mistaken smoking in the toilet for a long time and would not open the door when the attendant knocked for a long time. Yes, he was detained by the airport police once we landed. Most passengers recorded the incident and offered help for the attendant.
@Proto_Axie: I have personally played against him and he is not a coach or even a good player. He has been banned from multiple local pickleball facilities due to his anger outbursts, foul language and threatening behavior.
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