Lawsuit accuses Delta pilot of beer-fueled belligerence

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

What happens in Dakar doesn't necessarily stay in Dakar.

That is what a Delta Air Lines pilot and a flight attendant know if they've seen the lawsuit filed against them and the Atlanta-based airline.

A fellow flight attendant accuses the pair of covering up drunken and belligerent behavior in the Muslim land.

Delta flight attendant Jeanette French claims in the suit filed Friday in Fulton County State Court that pilot Loren Gus Pryor attacked her during an overnight layover in the African city. The Georgia woman claims the pilot from Texas was among a group from the Delta flight who were swilling beer taken from their aircraft and that they were making a scene while they were poolside at the Pullman Teranga Hotel in August 2008.

When she told them to cool it and warned that alcohol was illegal there, Pryor allegedly lashed out at her, grabbing her by the shoulder, twisting her around and shoving her away.

"You're not my mother," the lawsuit claims he said. "Now get the [expletive] out of here." He also allegedly warned her, as nearby pilots laughed and shouted more obscenities, that "You don't want to [expletive] with me."

Pryor could not be reached for comment. Neither could French. Her Atlanta attorney Musa L. Eubanks did not return calls for comment.

Eubanks wrote in the suit that her client is suffering "fear, anxiety, worry and severe emotional distress" over the incident and what followed.

The suit, which also names Delta and flight attendant Jeffrey Hill as defendants, seeks unspecified damages, claiming French was so upset upon her return home that she slept for nearly two days.

French claims Delta let Hill and Loren fabricate a defense that led to the March dismissal of a complaint she filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The suit claims the airline contributed to French's distress by failing to properly investigate the alleged incident and then telling her she might have to fly with Pryor again.

Delta declined to comment about the suit, and Hill could not be reached.

French also alleges that Delta failed to ensure her complaint was maintained in confidence, claiming that "news of the incident was all over Delta" by November 2008.

Delta has yet to file a legal response to the suit.