Plane Fight Started With Comment About Rosa Parks

Video shows altercation between a male and female Delta passenger
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 27, 2021 9:50 AM CST
Updated Jan 1, 2022 4:50 PM CST
Woman Arrested After Disturbance Aboard Delta Flight
File photo of Delta Air Lines jets.   (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Update: More details are emerging about the Los Angeles woman who allegedly hit and spit on a male passenger on a Dec. 23 Delta flight, including that she is now facing a federal assault charge. CNN reports Patricia Cornwall, 51, was allegedly returning from the bathroom when she found the aisle blocked by a beverage cart, barring the path to her seat. She was reportedly asked to temporarily take another; per the complaint she replied by saying, "What am I, Rosa Parks?" The male passenger then told her that was an inappropriate response as she "'isn't black....this isn't Alabama and this isn't a bus." He added, "sit down Karen." Things escalated, the two argued over mask-wearing, and per the complaint she visibly injured his head. If convicted, she faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Our original story from Monday follows:

Another mid-flight altercation is in the headlines, this one aboard a Delta flight from Tampa to Atlanta on Thursday. A female passenger got into an argument with a male passenger over masks, and things got ugly quickly, reports 11Alive. A video clip from the incident via ATL Uncensored shows the woman standing in the aisle and telling the seated male passenger to put his mask on. She had pulled down her own mask to deliver the order, and he told her that he was eating and that she should put her own mask on. "I will put my mask on when you put your mask on!" she says.

The argument gets heated, and each swears at the other multiple times. The man calls her "Karen" and a "b----," and she appears to slap him in the face. In the video, flight attendants can be seen trying to break things up. When the plane landed, police detained a woman identified as Patricia Cornwall and turned her over to FBI agents. No charges have been announced. The disturbance led "to the injury of fellow passengers and Delta employees," says the Atlanta Police Department in a statement. (Meanwhile, travel miseries continue because of cancellations.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X