Woman kicked off Delta flight after accusing pilot of drinking

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Southern California woman says she was kicked off a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta after she reported that she thought she smelled alcohol on the pilot’s breath, NBC-LA is reporting.

Cynthia Angel said she was on the July 19 flight preparing to leave Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when she and three other passengers struck up a conversation with one of the plane’s pilots, according to NBC-LA.

“ … the pilot walked by us, and I jokingly said, ‘Boy, you had been here a long time,’” Angel, 51, told NBC-LA. The flight’s departure out of Hartsfield had been delayed for almost an hour at that time.

The pilot -- who was actually the captain on that flight -- responded to Angel and the other passengers. When he walked away, another passenger asked whether anyone smelled alcohol on the pilot’s breath, NBC-LA said.

“We all agreed that he did smell of alcohol, but we didn’t know if he had been drinking or what we should do about it,” Angel told NBC-LA.

Angel said she volunteered to talk with the head flight attendant, saying, “I didn’t know what protocol is, but I believe I smelled alcohol on one of the pilots’ breath,” NBC-LA reported.

Angel then repeated the same thing to one of the other pilots, who assured her that he had been with the captain for several hours before the flight -- and that he had not been drinking.

Angel told NBC-LA she was satisfied with that response and thought the issue was over.

It was, but only briefly.

About 20 minutes after Angel sat down, a manager for Delta escorted her off the plane, where she once more recounted what she said to the pilot.

"We took these allegations very seriously and the pilot responded immediately to Ms. Angel’s concerns," Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said in an email to the AJC.

"Consistent with our policies, the crew contacted Flight Operations and Airport Customer Service who followed company policies and engaged a trained evaluator to determine if the pilot was impaired in any way. Following the evaluation, the pilot was cleared for duty."

Was the situation over this time?

No.

Another 20 minutes passed, and this time the Delta manager returned with a co-worker. Angel told NBC-LA that they asked her to remove her things and follow them off the plane.

This time she wasn’t getting back on.

“They told me that they take these accusations very seriously, and that the captain and the crew did not want me on this flight,” Angel told NBC-LA.

Delta gave Angel meal and hotel vouchers and told her she could return in the morning to take another flight to Los Angeles, NBC-LA said.

"Airport Customer Service, in consultation with the flight crew, determined that because the passenger continued to express concern even after the pilot was cleared that it would be best to reaccomodate her on another flight," Elliot wrote in her email to the AJC.

The language contained in air tickets gives airlines substantial discretion. For instance, airlines can refuse to take a passenger who "creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers" as well as one whose conduct is "disorderly."

Angel has contacted an attorney.

The attorney has written a complaint to Delta.

--Staff writer Larry Hartstein contributed to this report.