Passenger who documented 'solo flight' wasn't onboard when plane took off: 'I make comedy'

Corrections & clarifications: Delta said Thursday the plane Vincent Peone was on last week did not ultimately depart with him onboard. The jet returned to the gate for a maintenance issue and later departed with no passengers aboard, despite his video to the contrary.

Vincent Peone went viral earlier this week with a video showing him enjoying having the first leg of his Delta flight all to himself. However, the plane actually departed without Peone.

Peone, who left that information out of his video and tweet – as well as a subsequent interview with The Washington Post, did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. He has had not responded to The Post, either. Until now.

 Peone broke his silence and released a statement on Twitter Thursday, comically confirming, "The story took off fast, but the plane did not."

"My video is 100% true… and then I stopped filming," he wrote. "After the private jet broke down again with mechanical problems, I took a normal one the following morning." 

He continued: "The footage I have tells a short, funny and positive story – because those are the kind of stories I like to tell… I had some laughs with the amazing crew while living the dream."

The New York-based director said he makes "comedy," adding that his video could be considered "the Director’s cut."

In Peone's video, published Monday, he was told he could sit anywhere, got a personalized safety announcement and met the pilots. What it didn't show: the plane taking off or landing.

The same day, Delta retweeted Peone's tweet from its verified Twitter account with a message that appeared to confirm the veracity of Peone's story. The airline did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, also sent Monday.  

Delta has since informed media outlets that Peone wasn't actually on board when the flight departed Aspen, Colorado for Salt Lake City.

“Delta Connection flight 3652 last week pushed back but shortly returned to the gate due to a maintenance issue. The aircraft departed a short time later without any customers on board,” spokesman Anthony Black confirmed to USA TODAY. He did not know why Peone wasn't on the flight when it departed Aspen.

USA TODAY has also reached out to SkyWest, which operated the regional flight, for comment.

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