A Delta Air Lines plane from Seattle to Taipei, Taiwan, was forced to make an emergency diversion to Anchorage last Saturday when an altercation occurred between a flight attendant and an unruly passenger when the man used the ‘N word’ against the crew member.
New details of the incident aboard Delta flight DL-69 from Seattle Tacoma to Taipei on March 14 have now been revealed after the FBI filed an affidavit in an Alaska federal court, where passenger Malcolm Martin has been charged with interference with crew members.
Fellow passengers on board the Delta Airbus A350-900 described Martin as acting like an ‘a**hole’ before he had even boarded what was supposed to be a 13-hour transpacific flight to the capital of Taiwan.
After departure from SeaTac at around 5 pm last Saturday, the airplane climbed to a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet and tracked northwards off the coast of Canada as the main meal service got underway.
After the service was complete, the flight attendants started to eat their own meals in the galley when Martin allegedly came into the forward galley and forcefully grabbed one of the crew members’ shoulders to get their attention.
The flight attendant, referenced as ‘V-1’ In the affidavit, told an FBI investigator that Martin asked him in a ‘disrespectful tone’ whether the bathroom was occupied.
“V-1 responded in a dismissive manner, explaining to MARTIN that when the locked indicator was shown on the door it meant the latrine was occupied,” the affidavit reads. “V-1 turned back to continue eating his meal. MARTIN made several additionally disrespectful comments.”
Soon after, the bathroom became available, and Martin entered. But when he exited the bathroom a short time later, he wasn’t done with his argument with the flight attendant.
Martin allegedly made several more disrespectful comments to the flight attendant, who, in turn, “responded in a similarly disrespectful manner.”
A heated argument quickly ensued, and at one point, Martin allegedly called the African-American crew member the ‘N word.’ Martin accused the flight attendant of only treating him badly because he was white and threatened to “kick his ass” once the plane landed in Taipei.
This altercation was being watched by another flight attendant who called the pilots in the cockpit to report what is known as a Level 2 threat – Physically abusive behavior.
Levels of unruly passenger behavior
There are four internationally recognized unruly passenger levels:
- Level 1: Disruptive behavior such as verbal disruption and refusing to comply with crew member instructions.
- Level 2: Physically abusive behavior, which could include pushing or shoving crew members or other passengers.
- Level 3: Life-threatening behavior, which also includes any use or threat of use of a weapon.
- Level 4: An attempted or actual breach of the cockpit.
As the exchange between V-1 and Martin intensified, the second flight attendant upgraded the threat level to Level 3 (life-threatening behavior), which prompted the pilots to put the cockpit on lockdown.
The second flight attendant then scrambled to get a restraint kit ready before attempting to intervene by getting between the two arguing men and trying to de-escalate the heated situation.
As the two men came close to blows, the second flight attendant tried to hold back V-1, while passengers surrounded Martin to prevent him from getting close to V-1.
During this time, Martin allegedly swung at the second flight attendant, but the punch never made contact. Eventually, both parties calmed down, and Martin was returned to his seat.
By this point, however, the pilots had already decided to divert the aircraft to Anchorage, where local law enforcement were waiting to take Martin into custody. Martin declined to answer law enforcement questions in an initial interview.
If found guilty, Martin faces a potential maximum penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. It should be noted, however, that custodial sentences are very rare and when handed down don’t normally exceed six months.
The incident comes just a couple of months after flight attendants on a Delta flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Tokyo were forced to use beverage carts to block an unruly passenger into his seat as the plane diverted to Anchorage.
The January 12 incident aboard Delta flight DL-121 escalated rapidly when 64-year-old Harry Matthews physically pushed a flight attendant three rows into the aft galley.
He was escorted back to his seat, but not after Matthews allegedly headed towards the front of the plane. Fearing he might be trying to get to the cockpit, the beverage carts were used to block him in his seat.
Although Matthews had been exhibiting strange behavior before the plane even took off, the flight attendants allowed him to stay on board because they thought he had dementia. It turns out, however, that his behavior may have been caused by the sleeping tablets he took before take off.
