‘I would never think to bring my heavy cup on a trip like that…’: Connecticut flight attendant suffers fractured foot after customer mistake on plane
You might assume a flight attendant’s biggest risk of injury comes from turbulence or, in worst-case scenarios, something going wrong with the aircraft itself.
In reality, many on-the-job injuries come from passengers and the items they bring onboard.
Unruly behavior is one part of it, and exposure to things like radiation is another. But as one flight attendant recently learned, even something as ordinary as a reusable water bottle can cause serious harm when it isn’t handled properly.
That’s what a Connecticut-based flight attendant shared in a viral TikTok video that has now racked up more than 1.9 million views.
How Did Flight Attendant Get Injured?
“My foot is fractured, because a pax didn’t secure their Stanley cup during takeoff,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.
In the clip, the flight attendant films herself with her foot submerged in ice, appearing to be waiting for medical care. She doesn’t show the exact moment of impact, but she shares some details. “I am mad, because whyyy all the way in the aft,” she wrote in the caption.
The implication seems to be that during takeoff, a passenger’s heavy metal Stanley Cup wasn’t secured properly and ended up causing an injury serious enough to fracture her foot.
Several flight attendants in the comments say this kind of thing happens far more often than passengers realize. Most often, they say, it happens during boarding, takeoff, and turbulence, when loose items can shift quickly.
Some Controversy Around Metal Water Bottles
Some viewers on Reddit have previously debated whether metal water bottles should even be allowed on planes at all.
One person claimed that metal water bottles were “illegal” on Qantas flights. According to them, flight attendants had recently begun enforcing a rule requiring them to be stowed away.
“I’ve just had a domestic Qantas flight attendant tell myself and multiple other passengers that, as of a few months ago, it is illegal to bring a metal water bottle on a flight as it ‘can cause major injuries,’” the post reads. “He stated that it is a law and that they need to stay in carry-on bags in the overhead compartment.”
That claim quickly drew pushback from both passengers and cabin crew.
“Cabin crew here,” one person responded. “The directive was toward large, oversized water bottles needing to be stowed in bags or the overhead locker. Like many things, it can be misunderstood because of how it’s written.”
Others shared firsthand experiences that backed up the injury risk, even if no formal ban exists.
“I once got a full metal water bottle to the face on a Qantas flight,” another commenter wrote. “It fell out of an overhead bag. Can confirm they hurt like hell.”
“I watched a flight attendant lose her two front teeth to a metal water bottle falling out of a side pocket of a bag while she was rearranging an overhead bin,” shared another flight attendant. “The flight was delayed while they found replacement crew and cleaned up her blood.”
Despite these stories, however, there’s no official rule from Qantas or the TSA banning metal water bottles outright.
@malaylayy12 I am mad… because whyyy all the way in the aft. #flightattendant #fyp #crewlife ♬ Use this sound to go viral – Andrew
Flight Attendants Share Their Own Injury Stories
Under the flight attendant’s video, many airline workers chimed in with their own experiences.
“All those heavy metal water bottles need to be banned on flights. They’re literally weapons,” one person wrote.
Another said, “Pax bags are the reason I need a double disc replacement at 24. I’m 26 now and still can’t find a surgeon in my town willing to operate because of my age.”
“I was out for three months because of a sprained ankle tripping over a pax bag during turbulence,” someone else shared.
The Mary Sue has reached out to TikTok creator @malaylayy12 via TikTok messages for comment.
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