Woman Sues Delta Airlines After Drunk Off-Duty Pilot Groped and Kissed Passenger on Board Plane, Flight Attendant Failed to Intervene, Kept Serving Alcohol
(Photo: Daniel Shapiro/Unsplash)
In a recent lawsuit filed against Delta Airlines, a woman stated the cabin crew failed to act and continued to serve an off-duty pilot alcohol even after being reported for inappropriate behavior. The plaintiff accused the pilot, a woman from Wisconsin, of groping and kissing her while drunk on board the plane.
The plaintiff, Alison Petri attempted to receive aid from cabin crew during a flight after a drunk off-duty employee of a Delta subsidiary began harassing her.
According to KARE 11, Petri said, “You can’t leave on an airplane. So if you’re being assaulted, you really are dependent on the crew doing the right thing. And they didn’t. And then they continued to not do the right thing.”
The plaintiff said after the woman boarded the plane she informed Petri and the other passenger seated in the same row that she was a pilot. She also let them know she was going through a tough time.
The off-duty pilot reportedly became increasingly inappropriate as she consumed alcohol. When Petri attempted to receive help from the cabin crew, a flight attendant served the off-duty pilot a fifth can of wine rather than taking any action.
The woman allegedly kissed Petri on the mouth despite protests. The woman also groped Petri one last time before deplaning.
“She groped my butt. I turned to her and said, ‘We are not doing that!” Petri said.
After getting off the plane, Petri reported the incident to the gate agent and airport police.
Surveillance video captured the off-duty pilot falling on an escalator and then she could not get up without assistance.
The Wisconsin woman faced charges of 5th-degree criminal sexual conduct and disorderly conduct. She pleaded guilty to the disorderly conduct charge and a prosecutor dropped the other charge. The agreement also stated the case would be dropped after she served probation.
Petri filed the lawsuit against Delta Airlines in federal court. The document includes a Facebook Messenger exchange between the off-duty pilot and one of the flight attendants.
The flight attendant contacted the woman to let her know that Petri submitted a complaint.
“Do u have any idea what she might have said?” the woman asked.
“You kissed her,” the flight attendant replied.
“Omg I did?” the woman responded.
“Yeah, you were pretty bombed,” the flight attendant said.
The flight attendant also told the woman to “stick to your story.” The unnamed flight attendant continued that he told Delta that he was not aware of any physical contact and did not serve her alcohol.
Petri and her attorney argue the messages are evidence that the Delta employees attempted to cover up the incident.
“Ms. Petri does not want to see this happen to any other person. And when you see the sheer number of other instances that this has happened in the past, this is necessary to ensure it doesn’t happen to another person,” said attorney Jeff Storms.
In addition to the claims of harassment, the documents also include an image of the woman holding a vape pen. Petri said the off-duty pilot was also vaping on board the plane which is against Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules on smoking on board an aircraft. However, flight attendants ignored this as well.
According to a Delta spokesperson, the woman is no longer employed by Delta or its subsidiary.
“While we don’t have any specific comment on this pending litigation, Delta does not tolerate inappropriate or unlawful behavior. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people,” the spokesperson stated.
Petri said she has suffered anxiety on flights since the incident which is negatively affecting her work. Flying is a frequent part of her job that involves going around the country to advocate against childhood drowning.
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