A Delta flight attendant has been charged with attempted second degree murder, after repeatedly stabbing another flight attendant during a New Orleans layover. Gosh, this is awful.
In this post:
Layover gets violent for flight attendants in New Orleans
A 36-year-old Delta flight attendant has been arrested, following a spree of violence that happened during a layover in New Orleans early Monday morning. According to the New Orleans Police Department, the incident occurred around 3AM on Monday, November 25, 2024, in the downtown hotel where Delta crews stay on their layovers.
According to witnesses, several Delta crew members had gone out for the evening. When returning to the hotel, one of them began acting strange. The primary victim (a female) reportedly escorted the suspect (a male) to his room, at which point an argument began.
The suspect then started stabbing his colleague, twice in the arm and once in the neck. The victim then fled to another floor for help, with the suspect following her. A security guard then intervened, and was stabbed in the process as well.
At this point the police were called, and the suspect was taken into custody. He has been charged with attempted second degree murder, five counts of aggravated assault, and one count of aggravated battery. The victim was transported to the hospital — she’s reportedly in stable condition, but has serious injuries.
Another flight attendant who was at the same layover hotel that night reported being woken up shortly after 3AM by the fire alarm. This person poked their head out the door, and saw hotel security struggling to detain someone, with the suspect spraying a fire extinguisher at hotel security.
Minutes later, police showed up, and managed to arrest the suspect. This person also reports that the suspect had banged on several room doors, and that they could hear the victim screaming from a floor away. Other Delta employees who had a layover at the same hotel report hearing screaming, and opening their door, to find the victim laying in the hallway bleeding.
For what it’s worth, the suspect had arrived on Sunday night at around 8PM, on DL1450 from Atlanta. He was expected to depart on Monday afternoon at around 2PM, on DL409.
Here’s the internal statement that Delta has provided to employees:
We are working with local authorities on an incident that took place at our crew hotel in MSY on Sunday evening between two flight attendants. The situation is isolated and there are no safety concerns for crew members who are staying at the hotel. Delta has zero tolerance for violence against or among our people and will continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials. Out of respect to ongoing investigations, Delta cannot comment or confirm additional details.
What a terrible, tragic situation
First and foremost, my thoughts are with the two victims, and in particular the one who was stabbed three times. Here’s to hoping she’s able to make a quick and full recovery.
I think it’s also important to acknowledge how bad this must have been for all the other Delta employees who had a layover at the hotel. Many of them were woken up by the fire alarm and screaming, and saw their colleague on the floor bleeding. They then had to put on a happy face and go to work. I can’t even imagine how traumatic and difficult that must have been.
Obviously there are more questions than answers as of now. For example, was the one flight attendant traveling with a knife, or why did he have a knife on him during a layover? Also, was alcohol the only substance being used, or was he under the influence of something else?
Bottom line
A layover turned violent for some Delta flight attendants in New Orleans early Monday morning. Around 3AM, an argument escalated between two Delta flight attendants, and one ended up repeatedly stabbing the other, and then also stabbing a security guard who tried to help.
This man has now been charged with attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery. Like everyone, flight attendants are just human, and there are some bad apples out there. Here’s to hoping that the victims make a quick and full recovery, and that the other witnesses get the help they need to deal with what they witnessed.
Knowing DL their PR department is in a freenzy. Like some have mentioned DL is trying to sweep this under the rug. DL does not like negative publicity and will move mountains to keep things as quiet as possible with hopes it just fades away and usually it works to their benefit!
When the Horizon Airlines criminal pilot tried to kill a planeload of people after taking mushrooms, and then went on TV with his loving wife to discuss his "mental health challenges", I knew right then the general degradation of society had infected the ranks of in-flight airline crew and we'd be hearing more stories like that.
No company-wids email blast (or to inflight department) and the official company statement is only found on the inflight department page, not on the main company news page.
It does seem like Delta is trying to keep this quiet. I can't say I blame them for trying to avoid a rumor mill amongst the rank and file. However, a tragedy such as this is pertinent to all workgroups.
I am certain that managers...
No company-wids email blast (or to inflight department) and the official company statement is only found on the inflight department page, not on the main company news page.
It does seem like Delta is trying to keep this quiet. I can't say I blame them for trying to avoid a rumor mill amongst the rank and file. However, a tragedy such as this is pertinent to all workgroups.
I am certain that managers were proactive in offering counseling and time off for all the crews who had witnessed this horrific scene. It's one thing Delta is very good at.
Why would you need to notify gate agents in Anchorage or maintenance people in Salt Lake City about an isolated incident that is completely divorced from their lives?
Must be very hard on the affected crew members; I sure hope the reports saying that DL is offering meaningful resources are more accurate than the ones saying they aren't doing much, but I won't hold my breath.
What do you think Delta should do?
"One of the reasons this story was brought to my attention is that many Delta flight attendants seem to think the airline is trying to sweep this under the rug, and isn’t providing the amount of support that witnesses (other Delta crew members) feel they may need. I think that’s a totally fair criticism."
This is a totally irresponsible statement. Unless the actual witnesses say they are not getting the support they need, why...
"One of the reasons this story was brought to my attention is that many Delta flight attendants seem to think the airline is trying to sweep this under the rug, and isn’t providing the amount of support that witnesses (other Delta crew members) feel they may need. I think that’s a totally fair criticism."
This is a totally irresponsible statement. Unless the actual witnesses say they are not getting the support they need, why would anyone assume otherwise. Many flight attendants (whatever that means) who were not involved are giving you information that you think is a "fair" criticism. Irresponsible.
Layovers are part of the job. Not a good time to be hanging out with your colleagues. Meals, exercise and rest should be the goal. Whatever led to this incident is tragic, and wishing a quick recovery for the victims.
Ignoring the stabbing, the reports paint a picture of them partying (presumably with alcohol) until 3 a.m. when at least one of the flight attendants had a 2 p.m. flight. That seems incredibly irresponsible.
There are rules in place that say how many hours you have to have between your drinking and your flying. All airlines are different.
FAA minimums are 8 hours. I'm not sure if Delta's are more strict.
They don't want to go so far as to keep someone from having a beer with dinner when they get in an 2000 and don't leave until 1400 the next day.
@FNT Delta Diamond
Ignoring the stabbing. Really ? Show some respect . Because Someone needs to serve you a pre departure beverage the next day with your complementary upgrade ? Get it yourself dude.
Looks like we have the recreation police in our midst. If going out in New Orleans is a flight attendant's way to destress and unwind, then so be it. Yes, it is unfortunate that an employee was stabbed, but of the millions of flight attendant layovers that happen every year, this is definitely an outlier.
Layovers are apart of job however, it is their personal time. THEY ARE NOT GETTING PAID ON THEIR LAYOVER. The only mandate for a layover is no drinking under 8 hours FAA rules. In my opinion and from friends I know going out with crew for drinks and food is the norm. It’s safer than doing it alone.
The comment about Delta not supporting crew is false. My daughter is a Delta flight attendant and was on the floor that the initial attack took place. Her crew had an afternoon flight and Delta operations scrubbed them off the schedule and organized a councilor to meet with them. This is an extremely rare situation and is not representative of Delta at all, and Delta is effectively dealing with this tragedy. Let’s not jump to...
The comment about Delta not supporting crew is false. My daughter is a Delta flight attendant and was on the floor that the initial attack took place. Her crew had an afternoon flight and Delta operations scrubbed them off the schedule and organized a councilor to meet with them. This is an extremely rare situation and is not representative of Delta at all, and Delta is effectively dealing with this tragedy. Let’s not jump to conclusions or make grandiose and false statements as it undermines the effort to understand the situation.
It all depends who your manager is. My manager said she wouldn’t know if I would be pay protected or not, I can’t afford to lose a paycheck for experiencing something not my fault.
If your manager said "no, you aren't pay protected" then there would be a problem but based on the comment just above yours, DL has provided resources - as just about every company would in such a situation whether it be crime at Wal-Mart or any other business.
I do hope you are given the time and space to get support to process what happened
The disappointment is that Ben would take an assertion...
If your manager said "no, you aren't pay protected" then there would be a problem but based on the comment just above yours, DL has provided resources - as just about every company would in such a situation whether it be crime at Wal-Mart or any other business.
I do hope you are given the time and space to get support to process what happened
The disappointment is that Ben would take an assertion without investigation or validation of the facts only to have to be corrected by a family member that does know the truth.
Delta gives its crews separate rooms for a reason. The fact that the two decided to "economize" seems to be the root of the problem.
Not sure what other FAs are wanting DL to do, but it is reasonable to ask for counseling services and to be released from duty for a period of time.
Delta, like any company, cannot talk about personal details or about the investigation until law enforcement has released their report - which presumably becomes public for everyone.
What was the ethnicity of the suspect? I need some data points
@jim:
From one news outlet: white male, hispanic female.
Why? Hoping that you can further justify the stereotypes you hold in your mind?
If it really is true that Delta is not supporting its employees as much as possible then it would be really sad.
Regardless of the horrific stabbing incident, flight crew partying until 3 a.m. when they have a 2 p.m. flight is irresponsible. As my grandmother used to say, nothing good happens after 10 p.m.
Plenty good happens after 10pm. Maybe not on a school night though.
That's 11 hours... Would it also be unacceptable for them to have dinner until 8pm if they had a flight at 7am?
At least one of them landed at 8 pm. Assuming they were at the hotel by 9 or 9:30 p.m., that's between 6 and 6 1/2 hours of (presumably) drinking. Drinking 11 hours before a flight is certainly allowed, but just because it's allowed doesn't make it acceptable or responsible. Not only does alcohol impact everyone differently, but fatigue is also a major problem. Burning the midnight oil until 3 p.m. seems like a recipe for major problems.
I salute Ben’s commitment to post layout/ design.
Posting a photo of an empty hotel hallway!
You expect him to post a picture of the incident? The blood? The FA running down the hallway screaming? The police arresting the stabber? The victim in the ambulance? What picture exactly would satisfy you?
When someone says they "salute" something, it means they respect it. Never In Doubt is complimenting the choice of photo... Calm down, JustInDev.
Is this still a miles and points blog, or is Gary now writing it?
@ bo Then, just don’t read the article if you have an issue with it.
As expected from the world's most premium airline.
Thoughts and prayers to the victim.
Absolutely correct TD, the most “Premium” airline which did not make it into the World’s Top Twenty ranking.