A Spirit Airlines flight attendant found herself in the middle of a controversy after she posed to have her pictures taken inside a plane's engine well right before the flight.
Unaware that some passengers inside the plane were watching her from the windows, flight attendant Ericka Diehl sat in front of the engine for a photo. And then, to the surprise of her spectators, she climbed the engine well and posed for more shots.
The passengers did not realize she was one of their flight attendants until she boarded the plane and started to perform her usual duties.
One of the passengers asked her what she was doing outside, and she simply answered, "Taking a picture," NY Daily News reports.
The passenger took note of her name, promptly searched for her on Facebook and found out she had similar photos posted on her wall. The passenger went to the media to report what she did.
A spokesperson from Spirit Airlines said that Diehl's conduct "absolutely goes against Spirit policy." The airline is conducting an investigation regarding the issue.
"We took the appropriate action that goes in accordance to the investigations' results," Spirit Airlines media relations manager Irisaida Méndez said, according to NY Daily News.
She added that the results of the investigation will not be disclosed to the public, but will "stay within our privacy rules for human resources."
As the story went viral on social media, many flight attendants were enraged at how the photos were putting Diehl in a bad light. They said it is not uncommon for flight attendants to have their pictures taken in the engine well.
"I have a picture in a jet engine, and pretty much everybody that I know that has been a flight attendant," said former flight attendant Sylvester Pittman. "It's just one of those things that we like to do," he added, according to ABC News.
"The photo of the flight attendant in the engine isn't a problem. We all take them. The time that she decided to take it could be an issue," tweeted Heather Poole, author of "Cruising Attitude" and a former flight attendant, The Inquisitr reports.
Because of the incident, flight attendants in support of Diehl began posting on Twitter photos of themselves in the engine with the hashtag #SupportEricka. Apparently, this practice has been going on for decades, and it is no big deal to those in the indusry.
However, the issue may not just be about the photo itself. A Chicago Department of Aviation representative said that a person cannot access a plane's engine well or even the tarmac unless that person has a badge or an escort to do so. In the case of Diehl, it is not known if she herself was authorized or if she went there with somoene who was, according to The Consumerist.
Diehl did not give any comment about the issue. The flight attendant's engine photo was taken down on Facebook before she eventually deleted her account.
