What: Pinnacle/Delta New York to Atlanta
Where: New York
When: Feb 26 2010
Who: 60 passengers
Why: Flight 887 returned to the gate because of a sick passenger (during de-icing, a passenger had a panic attack), but that’s not why it was cancelled. It was cancelled when two flight attendants became fight attendants–and started fighting. Arguing, to be precise, but we have no idea to what degree. Accounts called this a spat, a brawl, a verbal disagreement, a fistfight, a wrestling match, an altercation, so your guess is as good as mine. Passengers were provided with alternative transportation; some of them quite inconvenienced.
Certainly it is irrelevant that Pinnacle is out of Memphis, and Memphis has always been-from its very inception–a rowdy river-cowboy sort of town, with a wrestling “King” standing beside Elvis, and where wrestling (pronounced rasslin’) has cultural (or lack of cultural) roots. I’m sure ringside seats are not what these Delta-Pinnacle passengers had in mind when they got their tickets.
This incident makes one wonder yet again about Pinnacle flight crew hiring practices.
The flight attendants face an investigation and probable firing. I recommend charm school or anger management. Or both.
Delta Airlines flight DL-2836 had to return and make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, on March 31st.