Delta honors Flight 253 crew

Delta Air Lines executives at a luncheon Thursday honored the crew of Flight 253, which was the target of a failed bombing attempt on Christmas Day. “What the crew did is heroic,” said Delta chief executive Richard Anderson in a recorded message to employees. But the Atlanta-based airline did not publicly name the crew members or say what their heroic actions were. “I’m not going to go into details of what happened on that flight and I want to respect their privacy,” Anderson said. He said the incident showed the benefits of the experience of Delta’s employees and the company’s training, including its “heightened training” as part of the airline’s merger with Northwest. The crew had a combined 199 years of experience, according to Anderson. Delta’s safety and security organization gave the crew members a “Save the Day” award.

Anderson, in his message to employees, also praised the Obama administration for “taking a leadership role and really engaging in a very aggressive and direct way to ensure that we continue to have the safest flight operations in the world.” He said Delta would continue to fully cooperate.