Delta flight delayed by cabin altercation

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Tampa was delayed by more than an hour Tuesday after an altercation involving two passengers, an airline spokeswoman told the AJC Wednesday.

Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said there was a "verbal altercation" on board Flight 2061 that resulted in two passengers being "removed from the plane and turned over to authorities."

Elliott would not confirm an account e-mailed to ajc.com from another passenger that the incident began after two women first accused two men sitting behind them of hitting their seat.

According to the e-mail, the plane was taxiing to the runway when "several people rang the flight attendant call button."

Other passengers told a flight attendant that one of the two women involved in the earlier dispute "said that when we got to Tampa she was going to slit his throat," according to the e-mail. "The flight attendant called someone, told them what happened, and said we were going to come back to the gate."

Elliott said that after Atlanta police removed the women from the plane, one remained in police custody while the other was rebooked on a later flight.

Flight 2061, originally scheduled to leave at 10:55 a.m., departed for Tampa after a 1-hour, 13-minute delay, Elliott said.

The name of the passenger taken into custody, and what charges, if any, were lodged against her, were not immediately available.