If I’d been on that plane, after the end of the first 90 minutes with no water, A/C, or ability to get off the plane I probably would have called 911. Passengers giving bad reviews to the airline won’t make the corporate office take notice. The police (and probably the FBI) showing up to investigate a report that the passengers are effectively being held hostage on the flight would. Especially after 9/11 law enforcement is going to take potential hostage situations on an airplane very, very seriously.
If the airline throw some low-level employee to the wolves to take all the blame for the incident, that’s when you go to lawyers and/or the media.
