Grandma stops woman from storming cockpit on Tucson-bound flight, according to viral video

An Atlanta woman stopped a fellow passenger from storming the plane’s cockpit during a flight to Tucson, according to a viral video.

Nicole Pruitt, a retired Army veteran who was coming to Arizona to visit her son and grandchild, was aboard a Delta Air Lines flight out of Atlanta on July 16, when one of the other 179 passengers started making a commotion near the back of the plane.

Midflight, a female passenger told flight attendants that she no longer wanted to be on the plane, Pruitt recalled in the video her son, Tyrique Perry, posted to TikTok.

“This chick came all the way from the back,” Pruitt said, adding, “She said she didn’t want to be on the plane anymore.”

Describing the passenger as “aggressive,” Pruitt said she “kept pushing” the flight attendants out of the way while trying to make her way to the cockpit.

“I have a feeling and God told me to do it,” the passenger said, according to Pruitt.

After hearing that, Pruitt, who was seated in first class, said she put her earphones in the seat pocket and told the person sitting next to her, “Excuse me, I’m going to beat her a** right now.”

Another video posted on Instagram showed the aftermath of the encounter. In it, the woman can be seen restrained on the floor while Pruitt stands beside her. Other passengers and flight attendants were later seen trying to get the woman off the floor.

Online, Pruitt was praised for detaining the passenger.

“That’s my mama,” Perry captioned in his video.

“With her heroic effort and the help of a handful of good citizens on the plane, they were able to successfully and safely divert back to Atlanta and handle this situation on the ground,” he stated in another video. “Big shout-out to my mom for preventing a potential tragedy.”

Calling Pruitt “savior queen,” one Instagram user said Delta should give her free flights to any destination.

Another person called Pruitt a hero, thanking her for her military service.

The flight returned to Atlanta, roughly an hour after departure, Delta spokesperson Stan Heaton said in an email to The Arizona Republic on July 23. When the plane landed there, medical personnel were on scene and law enforcement was notified, Heaton said.

Heaton said he did not know whether the passenger was arrested.

The flight eventually made its way back toward Tucson, arriving nearly 3 hours after it was initially scheduled to get there, according to Heaton.

“Delta sincerely appreciates the actions of our crew and customers for de-escalating this situation,” Heaton said. “We apologize to our customers for the delay and thank them for their understanding.”

Pruitt could not be immediately reached for comment by phone July 23, as she was flying back to Atlanta, her daughter told The Republic. Another call to Pruitt went unanswered on July 24.

Shawn Raymundo covers Phoenix and Scottsdale. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Grandma says she stopped aggressive passenger on Tucson-bound flight