When one considers mid-air disasters, a whole host of possibilities come to mind. None of them — mechanical error, weather-related turbulence, or a terrorist bent upon destruction — sound pleasant. However, one Delta Air Lines flight found a new menace that resulted in some not-so-friendly skies. Two flight attendants reportedly threw down in the middle of an aisle, which caused an an unscheduled landing and put an entire plane full of passengers behind schedule. How rude.
The incident took place on Delta Flight 2598 on January 22. The Los Angeles to Minneapolis flight was forced to land in Salt Lake City because the ladies “reportedly came to blows.” After an 80-minute delay, the women were booted for unprofessional behavior, which is probably the nicest way to frame the situation. The Aviation Herald first detailed the “fist fight” that happened after a “disagree[ment] over work issues.” USA Today confirmed the story with Delta, which apologized for the inconvenience to passengers:
[A]n unnamed Flight 2598 passenger reported some of the flight’s attendants were “sent off” the flight after it landed in Salt Lake City because of “bad behavior.”
“Delta apologizes to those customers who were inconvenienced after flight 2598 from Los Angeles to Minneapolis-St. Paul made an unscheduled stop in Salt Lake City following an altercation involving two flight attendants on board. The actions of these crew members in no way reflect the values and professionalism we expect from all of our employees,” Delta says in its statement.
Man, can you imagine? These were close quarters with only pillows, ginger ale, and coffee pots available as weapons. Actually, the latter could have been dangerous, and thankfully, no injuries were reported. These were simply two coworkers who couldn’t wait until landing to settle a score. I’d be tempted to call this story flight fanfiction, but Delta confirmed the tale.
(Via Aviation Herald & USA Today)