Delta Airlines is following the path of United Airlines as it has been accused of physically harming one of its passengers on board. A video has gone viral and showed a pilot in employment with Delta was caught smacking a female passenger to stop a fight.
The incident unfolded in front of other travelers on the airport boarding ramp as soon as the flight landed in Atlanta. The video of the physical altercation between the two women and the pilot resorting to violence to end it was posted on YouTube.
What transpired at the airport?
The video - uploaded by TMZ - showed the pilot grab one of the women involved in the brawl by the arm before hitting her and walking away, leaving the two to continue the fight.
The brawl which took place at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was uploaded online. The moment one of the women involved in the fight took down the other woman and wrapped her legs around her neck, the pilot decide to intervene to break up the brawl. He proceeded to grab one of the woman’s wrists before smacking the other.
A second video was also uploaded showing the incident from a different angle. The news website claims that the second video was provided to a supervisor by a Delta employee soon after the incident occurred. They were also upset over the fact that the security was called to break up the fight before the pilot decided to intervene. Delta Airlines said that it was taking the matter “very seriously.” However, in an official statement emailed to Washington Post, the airline's administration defended the pilot.
Delta’s response to the incident
Delta spokesman Brian Kruse revealed that the pilot accused of manhandling the woman passenger was immediately ousted and a thorough investigation was started. However, the airline's management went on to defend its employee. The airline stated the actions of the pilot “de-escalated an altercation.” It is unclear whether the pilot will face disciplinary action for the incident internally.
An isolated incident?
Nevertheless, this is not an isolated incident tarnishing the image of the airlines. Only last week a passenger onboard Delta flight was ousted from the aircraft for using the bathroom after desperately waiting for the flight to take off for half-an-hour.
A video of the incident surfaced online showing passenger Kima Hamilton clash with the cabin crew.
The incident led to the flight getting delayed by two hours. Of late, several airlines have faced backlash for unruly behavior of the crew toward the passengers. Traveling via airlines is slowly turning into a nightmare for many of such incidents on the rise.
