When going through the boarding process for an upcoming flight, one might expect to see the crew members readying the cabin, welcoming travelers or just generally inside the aircraft. That’s why it was a bit unsettling for several passengers to see a flight attendant posing for photos inside the plane’s engine well before a recent Spirit Airlines flight.

WLS-TV in Chicago reports that shortly after passengers boarded the Spirit flight at O’Hare International Airport, several noticed through their windows that a flight attendant was taking photos while standing on the tarmac in front of one of the plane’s jet engines and then sitting in front of the turbine blades.

When the woman ended up being a member of the flight’s crew, a passenger took down her name and asked what she was doing in the engine. The woman reportedly told the traveler that she was simply taking a picture.

Following the flight, the passenger found out the crew member had posted the photos on Facebook.

While posing with a jet engine is undoubtedly a unique photo, many people on the flight tell WLS they were concerned about the incident, questioning whether or not the photos were proper, or even legal.

Spirit Airlines says that the “activity portrayed in the photo absolutely goes against Spirit policy” and the company is investigating the issue.

When contacted by WLS, the flight attendant said she couldn’t discuss the issue. Shortly after the call, the photos were removed from Facebook.

A representative for the Chicago Department of Aviation tells WLS that in order for someone to access the tarmac and then a plane’s engine well, they would have to be properly badged and/or under escort. It wasn’t immediately clear if the flight attendant or the person taking the photos had that authority.

Tarmac Photos Land Flight Attendant In Stew [WLS-TV]

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