There is no shortage of American Airlines horror stories, from the utterly insane delays that stole a whole 25% of one couple’s vacation to the time a passenger ended up working for the company for free after a neglectful employee abandoned their shift. TikTok user Zayne Jadallah likely thought she’d managed to avoid starring in her own crazy tale when her flight was about to land, but she had one last surprise in store.
Zayne shared her scary — yet ultimately harmless and hilarious — experience on the app. She explained in her caption that she always records herself when a plane lands, as she’s naturally a bit jittery so she thinks it’s fun to watch back her reaction. This time, it was definitely worth documenting, as it means the internet can enjoy her priceless reaction to what she dubs “the most ruthless landing ever.”
In the short 10-second video, Zayne begins only a little apprehensive, keeping her eyes closed as the plane makes contact with the runaway… Only to then completely lose her cool when the plane starts shaking as it makes what looks to be an unexpectedly rough landing. What makes Zayne’s reaction so funny rather than frightening, though, is the way she immediately starts breathing heavily and looking around frantically, while all the other passengers appear calm and collected in their seats.
The thinking behind Zayne’s in-the-heat-of-the-moment reaction is leaving TikTok with many a question. “Who are you looking for?” one asked, while another wondered if Zayne was preparing to play hero: “I’m cryinggg u look like u had an idea to save the plane.” Others couldn’t handle how Zayne’s fear gauge went from 0 to 100 in a nano-second. “Everyone else being quiet and you panicking is sending me.” She really did jump to DEFCON 5: “THE BREATHE YOU TOOK. IM DEAD, girl you over here acting like it’s your last.”
Thankfully, there was a subset of sympathizers out there who were on Zayne’s level. “WHY IS NO ONE SCREAMING?” one demanded to know. Zayne should take some comfort from the fact that aerophobia — aka the fear of flying — is actually extremely common. One in six people have such extreme aerophobia that it prevents them from flying altogether, while one in five have it to a degree that requires either alcohol or prescription drugs to aid their anxieties. In the U.S., in particular, there are an estimated 25 million self-confessed aerophobes.
So Zayne may be getting roasted on TikTok for her OTT reaction to what, despite her shaky-cam camera work, was probably a mildly bumpy landing, but at least she can rest assured that many people out there likely would have had the exact same reaction. They just don’t have the smarts to record themselves doing so for online clout.