American Airlines investigating confrontation at SFO

American Airlines has suspended an employee while it investigates a confrontation between a male flight attendant and a passenger that began when a woman’s baby stroller was removed from a jetliner during boarding at San Francisco International Airport.

A video of the incident was posted Friday on Facebook by passenger Surain Adyanthaya. It shows a passenger crying at the front of the plane as she holds her baby. Adyanthaya said in a caption posted with the video that a flight attendant “violently took a stroller from a lady with her baby on my flight, hitting her and just missing the baby.”

The removal of the stroller is not seen in the video.

“You can’t use violence with baby. Just give me back my stroller, please,” the crying woman says as she holds her infant.

A fellow male passenger gets up and demands the name of the flight attendant who removed the stroller. “I want to know the guy’s name,” he’s heard saying as the woman continues to cry.

The flight attendant, who initially is not seen in the video, then appears and the male passenger is heard confronting him.

“Hey, bud. You do that to me and I’ll knock you flat,” the passenger says. The attendant immediately steps toward the aisle while the woman with the baby moves away.

“You stay out of this!” the attendant responds, pointing at the male passenger just before the two men confront each other in the aisle.

“Hit me! Hit me!” the flight attendant says.

“You get the hell off this plane,” the passenger replies.

“Come on, bring it on!” the attendant responds.

As the attendant is ushered off the plane, he says to the passenger, “You don’t know what the story is.”

“I don’t care what the story is. You almost hurt a baby,” the passenger responds. A female flight attendant then tells the male passenger it was an accident.

A United Airline's flight attendant passes by an American Airlines plane at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) A United Airline's flight attendant passes by an American Airlines plane at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Photo: KAT WADE, SFC Photo: KAT WADE, SFC Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close American Airlines investigating confrontation at SFO 1 / 25 Back to Gallery

“It was not an accident,” the male passenger responds.

Each customer is allowed one “small, collapsible and light” stroller — up to 20 pounds — that can be checked at the gate, according to the policy listed on the airline’s website. Strollers that are larger have to be checked at the ticket counter.

Friday’s confrontation comes just weeks after a highly publicized and controversial incident in which a man was dragged out of his seat and off a United Airlines flight in Chicago. The airline took days to apologize for the incident.

American Airlines, however, almost immediately responded. By Friday night, the airline released a statement in which it said that it was investigating the matter.

“What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers,” the statement said. “We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family’s needs are being met while she is in our care. After electing to take another flight, we are taking special care of her and her family and upgrading them to first class for the remainder of their international trip.

“The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care,” the statement added. “In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.”

Bob Ross, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American Airlines crew members, said there were “two stories” related to the incident.

“One, we don’t know all of the facts related to a passenger who became distraught while boarding a plane and, therefore, neither the company nor the public should rush to judgment,” he said in an emailed statement. “Second, it appears another passenger may have threatened a flight attendant with violence, which is a violation of federal law and no small matter. Air rage has become a serious issue on our flights.”

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz