Update: July 22, 6:06pm — A Delta spokesperson confirmed to The Root a “deescalation” involving the “actions of our crew and customers” occurred onboard Delta flight 937 on July 16, in response to a request for a statement. Unable to confirm involved customer’s names, the airline noted that “EMTs met the flight.” The reportedly unruly passenger exited the flight when it returned to Atlanta and “law enforcement was notified.”
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Original story: July 21, 10:24am
A Black woman named Nicole Pruitt is being hailed a shero during a recent Delta flight between Atlanta and Tucson in mid-July, but there’s still many questions.
The flight had been diverted after an unidentified white woman allegedly tried to storm the cockpit and yeet herself out of the plane’s emergency door. In a TikTok that has since gone viral, a white woman can be seen face down and hogtied in the aisle of a plane. According to witnesses on the flight, the unruly passenger was besting flight attendants, prompting Pruitt, who was sitting in first class, to save the day by attempting to stop her from doing so. Although it’s unclear exactly how Pruitt stopped the woman, in a TikTok video posted by a man who calls himself her son on Saturday (July 19), Pruitt describes what led up to the woman being hogtied.
“This chick came all the way from the f*cking back [trying to get to the cockpit]! She said she didn’t want to be on the plane no more– I said, ‘B*tch you shouldn’t got on the plane today then.’ That’s terroristic acts to me!” She also criticized other passengers for their inaction. “[And] the fact that we was in first class and these motherf*ckers didn’t do nothing— they just f*cking watching,” Pruitt continued. The Root reached out to Delta for comment and has not heard back, as of this writing.
When asked if the woman was getting aggressive, Pruitt answered, “Yes! […] The f*cking airline stewardess kept pushing her out the f*cking way saying, ‘I cannot let you go there.’” Pruitt detailed how the woman said she had “a calling” and that “God told me to do it.” Pruitt told the person behind the camera how since she wasn’t about to find out what said calling was, she says she removed her earpiece and put it in “that little seat pocket right there. I said, ‘Excuse me, I’m go beat her a*s right now.’”
In a statement to Fox 5, spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau said the airline “sincerely appreciates the actions of our crew and customers for deescalating this situation” and apologized for the delay.
Folks honored Pruitt’s bravery in TikToks.
“Nothing is better when a Black woman is Black woman-ing,” one fellow Black woman said. “This beautiful Black queen had to get up and get this passenger together! […] She said, ‘Oh no, not today. Not I! You gone have to sit back down or get you a butt whoopin’.’”
Another Black woman made a TikTok sharing a message just for Nicky. “Big ups to you, my sis. Sometimes it just takes us to pop out and show– all them men and all them other women on that flight and nobody could stop this woman from going from the back of the plane to the front trying to get into the cockpit.”
Pruitt’s son shared a message to those who want to show his mother love and support in a TikTok caption. “A lot of y’all have been reaching out saying you want to send flowers, take her to dinner, donate, all that. So we created a GoFundMe for anyone who genuinely wants to show love and appreciation,” he wrote. He added how, “She doesn’t need anything—but she said she’s open to receiving the support because she knows it’s coming from the heart. And that means everything.”
As of this writing, $245 has been raised of its $9,000 goal.
As far as the woman on the plane? There’s not information online about her, what caused the alleged incident, or whether she had a motive. According to Fox 5, the plane diverted back to Atlanta and arrived to Tucson three hours late.
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