An off-duty flight attendant was arrested in Oklahoma City on Friday after being “unruly” on a flight, Delta Air Lines said.
The flight attendant was an employee of Delta Air Lines but was not working on the flight on which the incident took place, a spokesperson for the company told the Washington Examiner.
“Thanks to the crew and passengers of Delta Flight 1730 (LAX to ATL) who assisted in detaining an unruly passenger as the flight diverted to Oklahoma City (OKC),” the airline said in a statement. “The aircraft landed without incident, and the passenger was removed by law enforcement. We apologize to our customers for the delay and any additional inconvenience this caused.”
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The spokesperson declined to comment on the status of the flight attendant’s employment with the company, referring to the local authorities’ investigation.
The passenger caused such a stir on the flight that at least two people on social media said there had been an attempt to hijack the plane.
“Someone tried hijacking our plane from LAX to ATL,” said a passenger on Twitter, adding a video of a person in a scuffle with a few people on the plane.
Someone tried hijacking our plane from LAX to ATL pic.twitter.com/fkPDPR60hu
— AB (@alifuckingburns) June 12, 2021
“There was an attempt to take down a plane today,” said passenger Benjamin Curlee in a video posted to TikTok. “Apparently, someone who was a flight attendant, not a flight attendant active on this flight, but a flight attendant, made an announcement over the loudspeaker and said, ‘Everyone, please take your seat and get ready to put on an oxygen mask,’ and then attempted to open the door of the plane.”
Curlee was not seated near the front of the plane.
Man attempted to open plane door mid flight from LAX to ATL. @FoxNews @cnnbrk @ABC pic.twitter.com/QtVAb7nilf
— Benjamin Curlee (@BenjaminCurlee) June 12, 2021
While a scuffle involving the passenger did take place near the door to the plane, the passenger did not attempt to open the door for passengers or the door to the cockpit, the Delta spokesperson said.
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Two minutes after the announcement, “the pilot made an announcement and said, ‘All able-bodied men, please come to the fore. There’s an emergency,'” Curlee said.
The alleged perpetrator got about halfway to the front of the plane before passengers were told to return to their seats and that the situation was under control, Curlee added.
