Stephen Keys is suing two airlines claiming he suffered emotional and physical pain on a flight from Nevada to California. (iStock)
Actor Stephen Keys is suing American Airlines and SkyWest, a regional airline that contracts with American, for severe emotional distress and weeks of physical pain after he got his pinky finger stuck in a plane’s armrest.
According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against both American Airlines and SkyWest, the actor, who appeared in “Soul Plane,” was on a SkyWest flight from Reno, Nev., to Los Angeles when his pinky became lodged into a small hole under the right armrest.
Keys was allegedly raising the armrest to get the seat belt when his hand became caught on a mechanism.
"The spring mechanism embedded inside of this hole in the armrest applied intense pressure to plaintiff's finger, immediately inflicting injury, swelling and pain," the suit says, NBC LA reported.
In the lawsuit, Keys claims he was unable to relieve his pinky finger from the armrest for the duration of the hourlong flight. The suit goes on to allege that neither the flight crew onboard nor a fire department rescue team were able to free his finger. An airline mechanic eventually had to take apart the entire armrest.
"By this time, dozens of passengers became aware of Mr. Keys' perilous condition, causing his dire situation to become a humiliating public spectacle,'' the suit states. "By the end of it all, he remained entrapped in this nightmarish condition, suffering for nearly an hour."
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In the suit, filed on Dec. 5, Keys claims the pain caused by the September incident prevented him from driving or playing with his children.
Keys is suing for an unspecified amount.
A representative for SkyWest was not immediately available for comment.
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