I can provide more details later, but, in summary, the pax in 1D and 1B essentially confirmed my story to the other officer and the captain.

I am mostly wondering if this approach is becoming a thing because FAs have learned that "shoot the messenger" gets them out of trouble for missteps they think they might have committed.

Thanks for the update. Did you by chance see where the drunk was sitting? You should definitely write in to DL with a concise complaint how StayingHomeIsBetter mentioned (especially noting the embarassment to you by being escorted off the plane by police). I think it's ridiculous that they retaliated against the person complaining and not the drunk person throwing up in the lav and stealing food. We weren't there and it's possible that the way you confronted the FA might have had something to do with their response, but even so I don't think what they did was justified.

It'd be great if you can come back here with what you send to DL, and what they come back with for a response.

Just curious... did the Captain apologize for what you had been put through?

Since bubba is late chiming in, I'll do the honors: DL is perfect and makes no mistakes. You are clearly a gamer. WFBF! You should be thankful for this enhancement! You will be charged a "Diamond Elite police escort" fee, payable only with AMEX.

Nice Going. Now you've stolen Bubba's thunder!

And it is quite remarkable that none of the four primary Delta apologists have have graced us with their presence.

If you need to vomit, where else but the lavatory would be the right place?

According to the OP, the person vomited in the lav, not all over the lav. He noted he could smell vomit, but never mentioned seeing vomit, so I assume the drunk person got sick in the toilet.

According to the story, the drunk passenger first went to the F galley and took some snacks. Then went into the lav and apparently threw up. I agree that the lav is the correct place to go, but it seems that this person didn't initially need to throw up. Getting food is usually the last thing you want to do when you are about to spew.

I would probably be on the side of the drunk pax if they rushed up front and went straight to the lav, meaning they probably were on the verge of vomiting and that lav may have been the closest one (or the back ones were occupied).

Yes, the other side of the story is that I disrupted the flight. According to the police, the FA told them that I yelled at him (which is true, since he said he was having trouble hearing me) and that I repeatedly pressed the FA call button (which I had to do twice, since he walked away without addressing my complaint the first time). This, apparently, constitutes flight disruption.

Looking back on the incident, there are two things that I can think of that might have made the FA defensive. The first is when I raised my voice in the aisle when he asked me to repeat myself. The second is, during our first conversation, he asked me what I expected him to do and I replied, "Something." That is when he walked away. I also think he didn't like the fact that I was detailing a whole list of things that had occurred in the front of the plane while he was chatting with the other FAs in the back. He probably inferred that I was criticizing him for not attending to the pax in F, which I kind of was.
To let the FA know that there was a pax that was falling down drunk who had ralphed in the F lav. I might have also mentioned to the FA that Drunk Guy took the snacks, which, by the way, he didn't eat. According to the pax in 1B, the drunk guy saw the snack basket sitting on the counter, helped himself to some of what was in the basket, and stuffed the booty in his pockets.
The other officer, the one who interviewed the flight crew and the other pax, was NOT happy. However, there was no discussion of citing the FA. In fact, it was the lack of response toward the FA's behavior that led me to start this thread. To wit, if an FA thinks he or she is in trouble for behaving badly on a flight, can they automatically get away with it by manufacturing a "flight disruption" so their original behavior is not scrutinized? If so, I would expect to see the number of similar incidents increase as more FAs realize they can get away with it.
I did see where he was sitting, I have written a complaint. I also reported the pax's identity and behavior to the police at GRR. Neither Delta nor the GRR police seem interested in pursuing action against anyone at this point. This leads me to question whether what the FA did is a sound strategy to avoid scrutiny for their own misdeeds.
The captain did not approach me afterward. The police officer that interviewed the flight crew escorted the crew to the exit while the other police officer and sergeant were answering some of my questions.
I did not actually see any vomit. The smell was enough to turn me back. I don't do well with the smell of vomit. Kind of like Chunk's prank in the movie Goonies.

I thinks it's a pretty good bet that DL's service procedures prohibit the F cabin from not being attended to for a period of time.

If you'd like something with a little more teeth, DL's Operations Specifications, filed by DL and approved by the FAA, probably do not allow the forward galley to be unoccupied for a period of time.

How else could they keep the Y riff-raff in the back?

If so, that is likely one of the more frequently disregarded specifications. Especially on late-night flights.

I've seen news stories and net reports of FAs doing this without cause.


In your defense, I would point out that raising one's voice - at his request, basically, as he stated he couldn't hear you - is not the same as yelling at him. (It's almost like he was trying to set up a claim against you....)


As for the "pressing the call button" allegation, what a reach.

I would be interested to know what crimes the FA might have committed by making this false report (other than making a false report). Interference with gvt operations, harassment....

I hope you got his name.

Good luck with the Delta complaint. I'm interested to see how they handle this.

Is it possible the lead FA's being in the back talking to the Y FAs had something to do with the drunk i.e., they were telling him about it and deciding what to do? Or was it just negligence on his part?

I hope the OP keeps us posted on what happens. Kind of lost my appetite for dinner.

Curious why you would not have answered the officers' questions. Your story seems compelling and one would think you would want to relate it in your defense.

Sorry for quoting the entire OP.